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
St Pancras 1914
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, London, Borough of]
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75
SYPHILIS.
In recent years much attention has been paid to this disease as a cause of
Preventible mortality. It is well realised that far more deaths are due to it
than appear under its name, partly owing to a reluctance to place the name
upon a death-certificate which is handed to the friends of the deceased, and
partly owing to the fact that many diseases with other names are due to
antecedent syphilis.
In the following table are given the age and sex distribution of deaths certified during 1914 as due to (
| 0-1 | 1-5 | 5—15 | 15—25 | 25—35 | 35—4.1 | 45—55 | 55-65 | 65—75 | 75 96 | 85 up. | Total Males. | 0-1 1 | 1-5 1 | 5-15 | !5—25 | 25-35 | 35- 45 | 45—55 | 65—65 | 65—75 | 75-85 | 85 up. | Total Females. | Total Persons. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||
| - | - | — | — | — | — | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | — | — | - | — | — | - | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | < | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - |
The above figures are too small to allow of any conclusions being drawn, but
it will be noticed that the deaths of adult males are in considerable excess over
those of females.
There is reason to believe that many abortions and miscarriages are caused
by this disease and also that it is responsible for a certain mortality (occulted)
amongst infants and young children.
With a view of determining what number of average live-born infants are
infected with the disease a research has been carried out during the year by
F. W. Mott, Esq., M.D., F.R.C.P., F.B.S., upon material which has been
supplied to him from St. Pancras by the Medical Officer of Health.
For this purpose the authorities of certain maternity charities in the Borough
have kindly obtained for us samples of foetal blood from infants at the time of
birth. This has been d ine by collecting a few cubic centimeter s of blood from
the placental end of the cut umblical cord, and these samples have been sent
to Dr. Mott who has tested them for the Wassermann reaction of syphilis.
Three institutions have co-operated with us in supplying the samples, viz.:
— a general hospital with a maternity practice (intern and extern) carried out
bv medical students and midwives (described as A) a second hospital with a
maternity practice (extern) carried out by medical practitioners (described as
B), and a maternity charity (extern) worked by midwives (described as C).
The work began in May, 1914, and the results given below extend over the
period to the end of April, 1915.