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REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
FOR THE YEAR 1900.
To the Worshipful The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of Islington.
Gentlemen,
It affords me much pleasure to submit for your consideration my report on
the health and sanitation of your Borough during the year 1900.
Before the recent census had been taken the bulk of it had been
written, and indeed all the rates had been calculated on the supposition that the
population had continued to increase in the proportion that had obtained between
1891 and 1896. The census returns, however, came as a great surprise to
everyone, for they showed that there had been a slight decrease. Consequently,
all the rates are slightly in error. This proves, however, to be very small as is
shown by the following figures.
The 5,721 deaths from all causes were calculated to have produced a death-rate
of 16.23, but the revised population shows that it should have been 17.02 per 1,000;
the 660 deaths from the zymotic diseases were supposed to have produced a
zymotic death-rate of 1.87 per 1,000, whereas it is now known to have been 1.96;
and, lastly, the 2,276 cases of infectious diseases were considered to have produced
a case-rate of 6.46 per 1,000 instead of 6.77 per 1,000, which we now know to be
the true rate.
These differences are so small that I may say they have been ignored by the
Registrar-General in his annual return for London.
The true death-rates can, however, be easily ascertained by multiplying those
given in this report for 1900 by the factor 1.049. Thus, for instance, the
death-rate for the year, 16.23x1.049=17.02.
I am,
Your obedient servant,
Medical Officer of Health.
July 1st, 1901.