[Report 1927] / Medical Officer of Health and School Medical Officer of Health, Reading County Borough.

  • Reading (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1927
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1927] / Medical Officer of Health and School Medical Officer of Health, Reading County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    24/92 (page 22)
    with them whilst in other instances where abundant opportunity for in¬ fection appears to be present, few secondary cases follow. Notwithstanding this situation smallpox can still be a grave source of inconvenience to the individual and a source of considerable anxiety and expense to the community. It is also clear from our present experience that numerous opportunities for infection have arisen and are likely to arise. Many vagrants, known contacts of smallpox, have been kept under observation in their passage through Reading, some of whom have been vaccinated and are thus protected against the disease. Others have passed on and developed smallpox at a later stage of their travels. One such tramp passed the night in a common lodging house in the borough, and the following day was found to be suffering from smallpox at Basingstoke. In some such manner the disease might extend to the general population. In view of these circumstances the vaccination returns give some ground for anxiety. It is perfectly clear that vaccination protects against both the major and minor forms of the disease. I append the vaccination returns for the year 1926, for which I am indebted to Mr. W. H. Oliver, Clerk to the Guardians. It will be seen that not more than 18 per cent, of children are now successfully vaccinated, the returns differing little from those of all recent years. TABLE V. 4-> O • rH M -+-> w • r-H Q No. 1 cn X! -a CD U CD l-i CD .a £ 2 & be <D 646 No. 2 699 No. 3 293 Whole Borough 1638 c a) Vh 2 X o >4-1 o : CD to rt Ch CO H O o o O rj Cu m > £ & T3 <D 67 134 58 259 <D 3 £ 3.2 o Cfl 3 cn Ch aj > X O a, ■—H £ in x) T3 <D aS C • »H o o > i 0 3 d CD • rH Q £ £ O o £ rO CD a cO a 2. o a cn o o.2 ri 4-> Ch ; O Ch £ 2 4H O £ 3 3 ° m a> H id c3 3 x cj -m 2 2 > co -P -P CD r& O +-> cp 2 £ £ A CD 4D 3 -3 O 3 Cl O ^ -a <D co (S3 31 21 347 415 180 59 942 6 m 4-> o • rH u> u: • 1—< TC Ch CD X 4-> o * B § > 3 O cfl £ o CD 3 £3. Number of births remaining (unaccounted for). No. 19 35 42 40 144 45 Rate per cent of total births 16 29 63 91 218 22.29 6.44 9.89 13.31 Measles. Measles tended to assume epidemic proportions towards the end of the year when 342 notifications were received. The epidemic however aborted in the early part of the present year. There were nine deaths assigned to measles which must always be regarded as a serious disease in young children. The number of deaths though always considerable is not to be regarded as the total measure of the damage done by this disease. It is so frequently complicated by bronchitis and pneumonia, and general debility that the result of an attack cannot always be said to end with the acute phase. It is believed that subsequent tuberculosis frequently has its origin in an attack of measles.