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 1905
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Proportion of overcrowding in groups of sanitary areas. | Measles death-rate at ages 0—5 years 1901-5, per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|
| Under 7.5 per cent. | 2.351 |
| 7.5 to 12.5 „ „ | 3.731 |
| 12.5 to 20.0 „ „ | 4.071 |
| 20 0 to 27.5 „ „ | 4.961 |
| Over 27.5 „ „ | 4.381 |
If the London measles death-rate be compared with the death-rates of the following large English
towns it will be seen that in the decennium 1895-1904, the London death-rate exceeded that of any
of these towns except Manchester, West Ham, Hull and Salford, and in 1905 was exceeded by the doathrates
of Birmingham, Sheffield, Bristol and Nottingham.
| Towns. | 1895-1904. | 1905. | Towns. | 1895-1901. | 1905. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham | 0.61 | 0.35 | |||
| Liverpool | 0.50 | 0.32 | Bradford | 0.33 | 0.04 |
| Manchester | 0.79 | 0.37 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 0.45 | 0.13 |
| Birmingham | 0.43 | 0.44 | Hull | 0.53 | 0.09 |
| Leeds | 0.47 | 0.24 | Nottingham | 0.33 | 0.92 |
| Sheffield | 0.51 | 0.94 | Salford | 0.91 | 0.32 |
| Bristol | 0.42 | 0.50 | Leicester | 0.32 | 0.23 |
The following table shows that in the decennium 1895-1904 the London measles death-rate was
higher than that of any of the undermentioned foreign towns except St. Petersburg, and in 1905
exceeded all except Amsterdam and St. Petersburg.
| Towns. | 1895-1904. | 1905. | Towns. | 1895-1904. | 1905. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Londoa | St. Petersburg | 0.57 | 0.83 | ||
| Paris | 0.28 | 0.15 | Berlin | 0.20 | 0.21 |
| Brussels | 0.21 | 0.09 | Vienna | 0.46 | 0.31 |
| Amsterdam | 0.32 | 0.43 | Rome | 0.32 | 0.30 |
| Copenhagen | 0.18 | 0.15 | New York | 0.21 | 0.13 |
| Stockholm | 0.15 |
The following table shows the number of deaths from measles at several age-period3 in each
of the sanitary areas. For the purposes of this table deaths occurring in public institutions belonging
to London have been distributed to the sanitary areas in which the deceased had previously resided.
(See footnote 1, page 9).
| Age -period. | 0— | 1— | 2— | 3— | 4— | Under 5. | 5— | 10— | 15 and upwards. | All ages. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 17 | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | – | 63 | |||
| Kensington | 13 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 56 | — | – | – | 56 | |
| Hammersmith | 5 | 1 | 1 | 27 | — | – | – | 27 | ||
| Fulham | 24 | 32 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | – | – | 84 | |
| Chelsea | 1 | 1 | 1 | _ | 5 | — | – | – | 5 | |
| Westminster, City of | 17 | 5 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 1 | – | 37 | ||
| St. Marylebone | 15 | 5 | 3 | 36 | – | – | 38 | |||
| Hampstead | 1 | — | 7 | – | – | 8 | ||||
| St. Pancras | 24 | 9 | 5 | 74 | 2 | – | 1 | 77 | ||
| Islington | 27 | 50 | 22 | 12 | 117 | 5 | – | – | 122 | |
| Stoke Newington | — | 3 | 1 | — | 10 | – | – | 12 | ||
| Hackney | 19 | 33 | 19 | 79 | 4 | – | – | 83 | ||
| Holborn | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | — | – | – | 12 | |
| Finsbury | 17 | 7 | 5 | — | 39 | – | – | 41 | ||
| London, City of | 1 | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1 | — | – | – | 1 |
| Shoreditch | 27 | 11 | 5 | 63 | — | – | – | 63 | ||
| Bethnal Green | 11 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 46 | – | – | 48 | |
| Stepney | 41 | 65 | 25 | 14 | 4 | 149 | – | – | 155 |
1. See footnote (J), page 9.
2. See footnote (2), page 9.