London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1893
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
24
Scarlet Fever.
The number of cases of scarlet fever notified in London in the year 1893 was 36,849, and the
number of deaths registered was 1,599. The number of cases notified in 1893 was 35 per cent.,
and the number of deaths registered in 1893, 34 per cent, in excess of the numbers notified and
registered respectively in the year 1892. In 1893 the case rate was 8.6, and the death rate 0.37 per
1,000 of population. In this year the fatality (deaths per 100 cases) was 4.34.
The rates in 1893 and previous periods were as follows—
| Period. | Death rate per 1,000. | Case rate per 1,000. | Case mortality per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861-70 | 1.14 | -* | - |
| 1871-80 | 0.60 | -* | - |
| 1881-90 | 0.33 | -* | - |
| 1891 | 0.14+ | 2.7 | 5.1 |
| 1892 | 0.27+ | 6.4 | 4.3 |
| 1893 | 0.37+ | 8.6 | 4.3 |
Diagram VI. shows the death rate from this disease in each year in relation to the mean of the
period 1859-93.
In the years 1889, 1890 and 1891, the London scarlet fever death rates were less than those
of England and Wales, but in 1892 and 1893 were considerably in excess.
The scarlet fever death rate of London can be compared with those of other English towns having a population of more than 200,000 persons by reference to the following table—
| Ten years, 1883-92. | 1893. | Ten years, 1883-92. | 1893. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.27 | 0.37‡ | West Ham | 0.30 | 0.35 | |
| Manchester | 0.47 | 0.27 | Bristol | 0.27 | 0.16 | |
| Liverpool | 0.52 | 0.45 | Bradford | 0.30 | 0.32 | |
| Birmingham | 0.26 | 0.14 | Nottingham | 0.16 | 0.37 | |
| Leeds | 0.64 | 0.08 | Hull | 0.22 | 0.16 | |
| Sheffield | 0.71 | 0.27 | Salford | 0.59 | 0.20 | |
London therefore in 1893 had a higher death rate than any of the towns except Liverpool and
Nottingham, and in this year had a death rate higher than the average of the preceding ten years, West
Ham, Bradford and Nottingham being the only others having in 1893 a death rate above the average
of the preceding ten years.
If the London death rate of scarlet fever be compared with the death rates of the following ten
foreign cities, it is seen that in 1893 the London rate was higher than that of all but two of these
cities, and in the ten preceding years was higher than those of all but three of these cities, thus—
| Death rate per 1,000, 1883—92. | Death rate per 1,000, 1893. | Death rate per 1,000, 1883—92 | Death rate per 1,000, 1893. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | .27 | .37‡ | St. Petersburg | .69 | .52 |
| Paris | .09 | .07 | Berlin | .24 | .34 |
| Brussels | .05 | .02 | Vienna | .20 | .22 |
| Amsterdam | .21 | .04 | Rome | .06 | .04 |
| Copenhagen | .22 | .31 | New York | .53 | .30 |
| Stockholm | .78 | 1.01 |
The Infectious Diseases (Notification) Act only came into force in 1889. † See footnote (†), page 6. J See footnote (•), page 6
i