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 1911
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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Scarlet Fever in 1911.
| Report for four weeks ended | No. of Notifications. | |
|---|---|---|
| Kensington | London. | |
| January 28 | 18 | 597 |
| February 25 | 19 | 597 |
| March 25 | 18 | 562 |
| April 22 | 8 | 579 |
| May 20 | 18 | 649 |
| June 17 | 15 | 669 |
| July 15 | 23 | 740 |
| August 12 | 16 | 833 |
| September 9. | 7 | 691 |
| October 7 | 13 | 1,159 |
| November 4 | 27 | 1.888 |
| December 2 | 23 | 1,126 |
| December 30 | 22 | 903 |
| 227 | 10,493 | |
The total number of cases was the lowest recorded since 1898, and 182 below the average for
the past 10 years. The type of the disease was also exceptionally mild, the case mortality being
equivalent to only 13 deaths as compared with an average for the last ten years of 30 deaths among
every thousand cases.
Scarlet Fever in Kensington, 1901-1911.
| The Year. | Cases notified. | Case rate per 1,000 of population. | Deaths. | Death rate per 1,000 of population. | Case mortality per cent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 475 | 2.69 | 15 | 0.08 | 3.2 |
| 1902 | 372 | 2.11 | 21 | 0.12 | 5.6 |
| 1903 | 330 | 1.88 | 14 | 0.08 | 4.2 |
| 1904 | 262 | 1.49 | 5 | 0.03 | 1.9 |
| 1905 | 332 | 1.90 | 21 | 0.12 | 6.3 |
| 1906 | 463 | 2.65 | 11 | 0.06 | 2.4 |
| 1907 | 522 | 3.00 | 9 | 0.05 | 1.7 |
| 1908 | 439 | 2.53 | 9 | 0.05 | 2.1 |
| 1909 | 417 | 2.40 | 7 | 0.04 | 1.7 |
| 1910 | 258 | 1.49 | 1 | 0.006 | 0.4 |
In 84 instances inquiry elicted a definite history of contact with persons suffering from Scarlet
Fever. Seven cases were due to infection in school; 17 were due to contact with persons recently
discharged from Hospital after an attack of Scarlet Fever; 3 arose from contact with "missed
cases" or persons who had suffered from unrecognised attacks of the disease. Id 16 cases the
infection was derived from sources beyond the Borough. Defects in the drainage system were
found in 30 of the houses where Scarlet Fever occurred.