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
Bethnal Green 1911
Report on the sanitary condition and vital statistics during the year 1911 together with the report of the Chief Sanitary Inspector
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23
INFANTILE TUBERCULAR DISEASE.
Various forms of infantile tuberculosis caused
20 deaths, a mortality of five per thousand births.
Six of these deaths were from Tabes Mesenterica and
nine from Tubercular Meningitis.
SUFFOCATION.
The deaths from overlaying continue to decrease,
and were four fewer than those of the preceding year.
I hope this may be taken as evidence of increasing
recognition on the part of mothers of the danger
incurred by permitting infants to share the parents
bed. Our Woman Inspector, I know, does all she can
to encourage the provision of simple home-made
cradles.
In the table below, the principal causes of infantile
deaths are tabulated, so as to show the mortality
attributed to each as compared with the total number
of deaths.
SPECIAL CAUSES OF INFANTILE DEATHS.
| Total. | Rate per thousand births. | |
|---|---|---|
| Diarrhœal diseases | 180 | 44.80 |
| Premature birth and congenital defects, including Atelectasis | 101 | 25.15 |
| Respiratory diseases | 92 | 22.90 |
| Wasting diseases | 64 | 16.0 |
| Convulsive diseases | 51 | 12.7 |
| Common infectious diseases | 39 | 9.7 |
| Suffocation | 22 | 5.5 |
| Tubercular diseases | 20 | 5.0 |