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
Lambeth 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lambeth, Metropolitan Borough of]
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The distribution of the disease in the different Registration Sub-Districts of the Borough of Lambeth, together with the numbers of deaths amongst both hospital- and home-treated patients, etc., during 1913, are as follows:—
| Registration Sub-Districts. | Total No. of Cases Notified. | Cases treated at Home. | Cases removed to Hospital. | No. of Deaths. | Case Mortality per 100. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Home. | In Hospital. | Total. | |||||
| Lambeth Church | 64 | - | 64 | - | 9 | 9 | 14.1 |
| Kennington | 55 | 2 | 53 | - | 7 | 7 | 12.7 |
| Stockwell | 94 | 16 | 78 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 11.7 |
| Brixton | 71 | 7 | 64 | — | 1 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Norwood | 101 | 26 | 75 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 7.9 |
| Borough of Lambeth | 385 | 51 | 334 | 4 | 32 | 36 | 9.4 |
997 swabs from suspected diphtheria throats or noses
were examined at the Bacteriological Laboratory during
1913, and, of these, 130 (i.e., 13.04 per cent.) showed the
presence of the true Klebs-Loeffler (diphtheria) bacilli. In
this connection, the point cannot be too well emphasisea
that a positive bacteriological result proves much, but that
a negative result proves practically nothing. Several
negative results must be obtained in succession before any
trustworthy conclusions are to be drawn from the absence
of the bacillus.
MEMBRANOUS CROUP
During 1913, in the Borough, 7 cases of membranous
croup* were notified, and 1 death was registered from the
disease, giving a case mortality of 14.3 per cent. 4 cases
were removed to hospital.
The annual averages for the decennium 1901-10 are (1)
notified cases 10.4, and (2) deaths 1.5.†
*Membranous Croup Notification Certificates received since the
formation of the new Borough:- 1901, 13; 1902, 15; 1903, 9; 1904,
11; 1905, 11; 1906, 11; 1907, 13; 1908, 12; 1909,3; 1910, 6; 1911, 4;
1912, 5; and 1913, 7.
† In London Statistics Diphtheria and Membranous Croup are now
grouped together by the Registrar-General.