Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth District, The Board of Works (Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting & Wandsworth)]
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71
Zymotic or
Epidemic
Diseases.
The amount of epidemic disease which
proved fatal in this sub-distaict during
1885 was very small. The proportion of deaths from
these diseases was only l.2 per 1,000. There is no
single disease which we could say tended to become
wide-spread in the community. Diphtheria which had
been prevalent in some districts only appeared in
isolated cases. Enteric fever was also restricted to
the first sufferers. As a district, we are favourably
situated to resist invasion of epidemic disease from
neighbouring localities. We are isolated from all save
Wandsworth, with which our point of contact is limited
to one street. The river on the north (an excellent
barrier) and open commons on the south and west
afford great protection to us from aerial infection.
The table below (III.) gives a retrospect of the
chief zymotic diseases during the last ten years (76-85).
During the past year it will be seen that we have
been happily fortunate.
1876 | 1877 | 1878 | 1879 | 1880 | 1881 | 1882 | 1883 | 1884 | 1885 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Small-pox | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | ... | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. |
Measles | 1 | 2 | 7 | .. | .. | 6 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Scarlet Fever | 3 | 6 | .. | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 7 | .. | .. |
Enteric Fever | .. | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 3 |
Diphtheria | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | 29 | 24 | .. | 5 |
Whooping-cough | 7 | .. | 4 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
Epidemic Diarrhoea | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
Other Zymotic Diseases | 3 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | .. | 1 |
Total Deaths from Zymotic Diseases | 22 | 22 | 36 | 27 | 25 | 27 | 69 | 44 | 28 | 18 |
Zymotic Death-rate | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.2 |
Death-rate from all Diseases | 13.0 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 15.0 | 13.6 | 12.5 | 15.1 | 17.1 | 13.7 | 11.2 |