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
Kensington 1906
Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health 1906
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67
"One hundred of the 250 infants were seen by me at ages varying from 2 to 6 weeks, none
earlier; 42 of these were breast-fed only; 58 were hand-fed, 8 of them improperly; 45 were healthy,
and 55 were in a sick, weakly, or ill-nourished condition.
OCCUPATIONS OF FATHERS OF 207 DECEASED LEGITIMATE CHILDREN.
| Labourer | 70 | Dyer, Clerk, Chef, Cellerman, Footman, Soldier, Window cleaner, Wood chopper, Policeman (1 each) | 9 |
| Porter | 13 | ||
| Carman | 16 | ||
| Artizan | 24 | ||
| Shopkeeper | 19 | Occupations of Mothers of 43 deceased Illegitimate Children:— | |
| Coachman and Cabman | 7 | ||
| Hawker and Laundryman (4 each) | 8 | ||
| Carriage Cleaner, Street Musician, Caretaker, Postman, Farrier, Railway Employè, Caneworker (3 each) | 21 | Laundress | 6 |
| Domestic Servant | 22 | ||
| Needlewoman | 4 | ||
| Milk Carrier, General Dealer, Foreman, Warehouseman, Horsekeeper, Traveller, Butler, Barman, Slater, French Polisher (2 each) | 20 | Flower seller | 2 |
| Charwoman | 5 | ||
| Chambermaid, Clerk, Barmaid, Hawker (1 each) | 4 | ||
VACCINATION.
The table at page 68 is a return respecting vaccination in Kensington in 1905, for which
I am indebted to Mr. King, the vaccination officer. It shows that out of 3,457 infants, whose
births were returned in the "Birth List Sheets" (col. 2), during the year, 3,135 were successfully
vaccinated, and that 14 were returned as "insusceptible of vaccination." In 5 cases vaccination
was postponed by medical certificate; 281 infants died unvaccinated; in 15 cases infants were
removed to other districts, the vaccination officers of which were duly notified of the fact; whilst
136 cases, from "removal to places out of the parish, unknown, or which cannot be reached,
and cases not having been found," were unaccounted for. These cases are, with those of
"conscientious objectors" (32 against 23, 25, and 37, in the preceding three years respectively),
equivalent to a "loss" (i.e. cases not finally accounted for) of 5.4 per cent., as compared with the
number of births returned in the Birth List Sheets; the loss in the preceding ten years having been
9.0, 10.7, 10.1, 12.7 (1898), 8.1, 6.8, 7.6, 6.1, 5.8 and 5.8 per cent. The returns compare favourably
with those for the Metropolis as a whole.
The actual figures, showing loss, both for the Metropolis and the rest of England, during the twenty years 1884-1903, as set out in the report of the Local Government Board for 1903-4, are as follows:—
| Metropolis. | Rest of England. | Metropolis. | Rest of England. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases lost. | Cases lost. | Cases lost. | Cases lost. | ||
| 1884 | 6·8 per cent. | 5·3 per cent. | 1894 | 20·6 per cent. | 19·0 per cent. |
| 1885 | 7·0 „ | 5·5 „ | 1895 | 24·9 „ | 19·8 „ |
| 1886 | 7·8 „ | 6·1 „ | 1896 | 26·4 „ | 22·3 „ |
| 1887 | 9·0 „ | 6·7 „ | 1897 | 29·1 „ | 21·6 „ |
| 1888 | 10·3 „ | 8·2 „ | 1898 | 33·0 „ | 19·6 „ |
| 1889 | 11·6 „ | 9·6 „ | 1899 | 27·7 „ | 15·4 „ |
| 1890 | 13·9 „ | 10·9 „ | 1900 | 25·8 „ | 13·9 „ |
| 1891 | 16·4 „ | 12·9 „ | 1901 | 24·1 „ | 11·2 „ |
| 1892 | 18·4 „ | 14·3 „ | 1902 | 21·3* „ | 10·0 „ |
| 1893 | 18·2 „ | 15·7 „ | 1903 | 20·7 „ | 9·1 „ |
These figures show the great increase in annual "loss," from 1884 onward to 1898, and indicate
that the new Act, which came into operation in 1899, has brought about a considerable increase in
the number of primary vaccinations. The cost to the country has been great; but the Act has
justified the policy of the Local Government Board in introducing it. The Board, in their annual
report for 1901-2, referring to the vaccination returns for 1899, observed that "the increased
acceptance of primary vaccination"—at a time precedent to the last epidemic of small-pox—is to
be "referred to the altered conditions under which, consequent upon the Vaccination Act, 1898,
and their regulations made thereunder, vaccination is now performed, and the increased facilities
which now exist for its performance." One of the most potent influences tending to the increase
in the number of vaccinations in normal years, is the provision made for the use of glycerinated
calf-lymph, which has cut the ground from under the feet of those who objected to vaccination
because of the possibility of enthetic disease being conveyed in humanized lymph.
* This is the percentage for the Metropolis as a whole. In twelve of the unions the percentages of cases not finally
accounted for in 1902 exceeded 20 per cent. going as high as from 36 to nearly 59 per cent. in certain cases.