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
Battersea 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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67
Deaths from Zymotic Diseases.
The principal zymotic diseases are small-pox, measles, scarlet
fever, diphtheria (including membranous croup), whooping-cough,
enteric fever and diarrhoea.
The deaths from these causes in 1932 numbered 75, as compared
with 33 in 1931, an increase of 127 per cent. There was a
corresponding; increase in the zymotic death-rate from 0.207 in
1931 to 0.478 in 1932.
The mean death-rate from each of the principal zymotic diseases for the ten years 1912-1921, and for the ten years 1922-1931, are compared with the corresponding rates for 1931 and 1932 in the following table :—
| Zymotic Diseases | Number of Deaths from each of the principal Zymotic Diseases in 1931 and 1932, with corresponding Death Hates for those years and for the 10 years 1912.21 and 1922-1931. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Deaths. | Death-rate per 1,000 population. | Mean Death-rate per 1,000 population. | Increase ( + ) or Decrease (-), 1932 over | |||||
| 1931. | 1932. | 1931. | 1932. | 1912-1921. | 1922-1931. | Previous year. | 1922-1931. | |
| Small Pox | .001 | - | - .001 | |||||
| Measles | 2 | 23 | .013 | .147 | .358 | .161 | +.134 | - .014 |
| Scarlet Fever | 6 | 4 | .038 | .025 | .040 | .031 | -.013 | - .006 |
| diphtheria | 5 | 9 | .031 | .057 | .183 | .137 | +.026 | - .080 |
| Whooping-cough | 5 | 11 | .031 | .070 | .220 | .103 | + .039 | - .033 |
| interic fever | 1 | — | .006 | — | .020 | .005 | - .006 | - .005 |
| Diarrhoea and enteritis | 14 | 28 | .088 | .179 | .483 | .157 | + .091 | + 022 |
| Total | 33 | 75 | .207 | .478 | 1.304 | .595 | + .271 | -.117 |
The death-rate from zymotic diseases was, in 1931, the lowest
yet recorded in Battersea, but rose in 1932 to 0.478, the increase
being due principally to the measles epidemic and to a slightly
increased death-rate from diarrhœa.
NON-NOTIFIABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Information as to the occurrence of non-notifiable forms of
infectious disease is obtained chiefly from the returns made by the
head teachers of elementary schools which show the absences of
scholars which are attributed to illness, and the nature of the
disease.