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
Lewisham 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham Borough]
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Table IV.
Showing age and sex incidence of the disease; and also the age and sex of the 15 fatal cases, together with the proportion of deaths to attacks in each age period.
| Age Periods. | Cases. | Deaths | Number of deaths per cent, of attacks of Enteric Fever. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | Total. | Males. | Females. | Total. | ||
| Under 5 years | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | _ | - | |
| 5—10 | 6 | 7 | 13 | - | — | 1 | 7.6 |
| 10—20 | 10 | 15 | 25 | - | 4 | 5 | 20.0 |
| 20—30 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 1 | — | 1 | 4.3 |
| 30—40 | 1 | 13 | 14 | - | 3 | 4 | 28.5 |
| 40—50 | 3 | 13 | 16 | - | — | 1 | 6.2 |
| 50 and upwards | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 |
| At all ages | 38 | 64 | 102 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 14.7 |
It appears from this Table that the incidence of attack was
heaviest at ages 10-30 years, and least under 5 years. More
females were aSected than males.
The case mortality rate among males was 18.40/0, and was
high compared with that of females, 12.5%. The case mortality
rate of both sexes together was 14.7 per cent.
It is of interest to note that the case mortality rate on the
whole number of 129 cases in Sydenham, Beckenham and Penge,
was 13.7 %, that is to say, it is lower than the rate of the 102
Sydenham cases, and is a fairer indication of the severity of
the outbreak.
Incidence as Regards Social Condition.
The incidence of the disease was in no way related to the
social condition of the residents in the district, the well-to-do
and the poorer classes being alike aSected.
Cause of the Outbreak.
The usual channels by which the disease is conveyed were
explored, and early in our investigations we were able to
exclude water. It appears that the Sydenham district receives