London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Chelsea 1909
Annual report for 1909 of the Medical Officer of Health
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Table VI.—Zymotic Disease Mortality in Chelsea in 1909.
| Actual number of deaths in Chelsea. | Chelsea's proportion of total London deaths according to its population. | Average number of deaths annually in Chelsea, 1899-1908. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measles | 24 | 36 | 27 |
| Scarlet Fever | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Diphtheria | 14 | 9 | 10 |
| Whooping Cough | 13 | 19 | 25 |
| Enteric Fever | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Diarrhœa | 30 | 41 | 62 |
Diarrhœa.—The deaths in Chelsea in 1909 from diarrhœal diseases
(diarrhœa 13, enteritis 17) were 30 in number, as compared with 50 in
1908. Eighteen of the deaths were of infants under one year of age, six
were between one and five years of age, and six were adults. Twelve of
the deaths were of North Chelsea residents, and 18 of South Chelsea.
The summer prevalence of the disease was very late in commencing, no
deaths being registered until the fourth week in August; but the
prevalence continued unusually late into the autumn, deaths from
diarrhœa being registered every week up to the third week in October.
Table VII.—Mortality from Diarrhœal Diseases.
| Year. | Chelsea. | London. |
|---|---|---|
| Death-rate per million. | Death-rate per million. | |
| 1896 | 1037 | 1112 |
| 1897 | 1340 | 1446 |
| 1898 | 1258 | 1556 |
| 1899 | 1282 | 1663 |
| 1900 | 1187 | 1251 |
| 1901 | 788 | 1184 |
| 1902 | 692 | 737 |
| 1903 | 541 | 837 |
| 1904 | 864 | 1267 |
| 1905 | 620 | 948 |
| 1906 | 1115 | 1275 |
| 1907 | 509 | 544 |
| 1908 | 656 | 796 |
| 1909 | 400 | 552 |
The diarrhœa death-rate in Chelsea in 1909 is probably the lowest as
yet recorded. In London the 1909 rate is only very slightly above the
exceptionally low rate of 1907. How far these favourable results are due
to cold and wet summers, and how far they are attributable to the efforts
—municipal and philanthropic—now being made with a view to the
conservation of infant life, it is impossible as yet to determine.
Influenza.—The number of deaths attributed to influenza in 1909
was 25, as against 31 in 1908. Twelve deaths occurred in North Chelsea,
and 13 in South Chelsea. Fifteen of the fatal cases were of persons aged