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
London County Council 1898
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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in 1898 at noon on Thursday, 21st July, i.e., the latter part of the 29th week, and the schools reopened
on Monday, the 21st August, i.e., at the beginning of the 34th week. If the number of
cases notified in the four weeks which would be most subject to holiday influence, be compared with
the number of cases notified in the four preceding and four subsequent weeks, the results shown in
the following table are obtained. It will be seen that the decrease in the number of cases notified
during the period of holiday influence, and the subsequent increase in the following period is
most marked at the school age—
| Period. | Notified cases—Ages. | Increase or decrease per cent. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0—3 | 3—13 | 13 and upwards. | 0—3 | 3—13 | 13 and upwards. | |
| Four weeks preceding weeks of holiday influence (27th to 30th) | 176 | 997 | 197 | – | – | – |
| Four weeks of holiday influence (31st to 34th) | 137 | 680 | 163 | –22.2 | –31.8 | – 17.3 |
| Four weeks following weeks of holiday influence (35th to 38th) | 136 | 907 | 194 | – 0.7 | +334 | + 190 |
Scarlet fever—Proportion of cases and deaths in hospitals.
It will be seen by reference to diagram VII. (page 19) that the proportion of cases admitted
and deaths occurring in the hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board during the year 1898
was greater than in any previous year.
Scarlet fever, 1898—Age and sex distribution.
The following table shows the case-rates, death-rates, and fatality of scarlet fever at several
ages and for each sex in London during the year 1898. It will be seen that the case-rate, deathrate,
and fatality was greater among males at "all ages" than among females. As in 1897, the
greatest incidence of attack was upon children four years of age both in the case of males and
females, the greatest incidence of death was on males of two years of age and on females of two and
four years of age. The fatality of the disease was greatest among children, males and females,
aged one year, if the figures shown for males aged 45 and upwards be disregarded, as the number
of cases notified at these ages is obviously too small to give reliable results—
| Age-period. | Hales. | Females. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases. | Deaths. | Case mortality per cent. | Rates per 100,000 living. | Cases. | Deaths. | Case mortality per cent. | Rates per 100,000 living. | |||
| Cases. | Deaths. | Cases. | Deaths. | |||||||
| All ages. | 8,032 | 304 | 3.8 | 377 | 14 | 8,862 | 286 | 3.2 | 373 | 12 |
| 0— | 119 | 12 | 10.1 | 206 | 21 | 115 | 13 | 11.3 | 196 | 22 |
| 1— | 341 | 54 | 15.8 | 660 | 104 | 309 | 43 | 13.9 | 593 | 82 |
| 2— | 578 | 63 | 10.9 | 1,070 | 117 | 542 | 50 | 9.2 | 999 | 92 |
| 3— | 783 | 52 | 6.6 | 1,496 | 99 | 810 | 49 | 6.0 | 1,512 | 91 |
| 4— | 877 | 33 | 3.8 | 1,723 | 65 | 943 | 47 | 5.0 | 1,844 | 92 |
| 5— | 3,207 | 59 | 1.8 | 1,327 | 24 | 3,522 | 61 | 1.7 | 1,443 | 25 |
| 10— | 1,214 | 13 | 1.1 | 550 | 6 | 1,580 | 13 | 0.8 | 703 | 6 |
| 15— | 466 | 3 | 0.6 | 221 | 1 | 446 | 3 | 0.7 | 190 | 1 |
| 20— | 201 | 5 | 2.5 | 97 | 2 | 282 | 2 | 0.7 | 113 | 1 |
| 25— | 174 | 5 | 2.9 | 49 | 1 | 238 | 3 | 1.3 | 58 | 1 |
| 35— | 50 | 1 | 2.0 | 19 | – | 53 | 1 | 1.9 | 18 | – |
| 45— | 16 | 3 | 18.7 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 8.3 | 6 | – |
| 55 and upwards. | 6 | 1 | 16.7 | 3 | 1 | 10 | – | – | 4 | – |
* In the preparation of this table, the question whether the persons, who were attacked and who died, belonged to London is
disregarded the percentage being calculated on the number of cases notified in London, and the number of deaths occurring in London
and the institutions belonging to London. Inasmuch as the age of the patient is not in all cases recorded in the notification certificate,
it has been necessary to distribute snch cases among the various ages proportionately.