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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The following table shows the whooping-cough deaths and death-rates for the year 1905 and the death-rates for the period 1901-4 in the several metropolitan sanitary districts:—
| Sanitary area. | Deaths, 1905. | Death rate per 1,000 persons living. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901-4. | 1905. | ||
| Paddington | 50 | | 0.25 | 0.34 |
| Kensington | 60 | 0.27 | 0.33 |
| Hammersmith | 57 | 0.38 | 0.48 |
| Fulham | 83 | 0.43 | 0.53 |
| Chelsea | 22 | 0.33 | 0.30 |
| Westminster, City of | 28 | 0.19 | 0.16 |
| St. Marylebone | 24 | 0.25 | 0.19 |
| Hampstead | 17 | 0.17 | 0.19 |
| St. Pancras | 82 | 0.40 | 0.35 |
| Islington | 112 | 0.36 | 0.33 |
| Stoke Newington | 10 | 0.25 | 0.19 |
| Hackney | 65 | 0.30 | 0.29 |
| Holborn | 17 | 0.27 | 0.30 |
| Finsbury | 32 | 0.48 | 0.33 |
| London, City of | 2 | 0.17 | 0.09 |
| Shoreditch | 88 | 0.52 | 0.76 |
| Bethnal Green | 54 | 0.42 | 0.42 |
| Stepney | 137 | 0.44 | 0.45 |
| Poplar | 80 | 0.50 | 0.47 |
| Southwark | 80 | 0.48 | 0.38 |
| Bermondsey | 37 | 0.45 | 0.29 |
| Lambeth | 80 | 0.38 | 0.26 |
| Battersea | 51 | 0.41 | 0.29 |
| Wandsworth | 76 | 0.27 | 0.29 |
| Camberwell | 68 | 0.34 | 0.25 |
| Deptford | 19 | 0.41 | 0.17 |
| Greenwich | 14 | 0.38 | 0.14 |
| Lewisham | 26 | 0.25 | 0.18 |
| Woolwich | 16 | 0.32 | 0.13 |
It will be seen from the foregoing table that in the period 1901-4, the whooping-cough death-rate
was highest in Shoreditch (0.52), and lowest in Hampstead (0.17), and the City of London (0.17); in the
year 1905, the highest rate was again in Shoreditch (0.76), and lowest in the City of London (0.09).
The whooping-cough death-rate in each of the four quarters of the year 1905 were as follows: first
quarter, 0.37; second quarter, 0.45; third quarter, 0.22; and fourth quarter, 0.24 per 1,000 persons
living.
As in the case of other infectious diseases medical officers of health receive information from
the teachers in elementary schools of the absence of children from school on account of attack of
whooping-cough; the number of cases thus heard of is, however, only exceptionally stated in the
annual reports. Figures, therefore, which have been obtained during ten years notification of cases of
this disease in Aberdeen (1891-1900) are of value in giving indication of the account of prevalence of this
disease in an urban community. The following figures are extracted from a paper by the late Dr.
J.S. Laing and Professor Matthew Hay.*
| Ages. | No. of cases. | Attack rate per 1,000 of population at each year of age. | No. of deaths. | Fatality per cent. | Ages. | No. of cases. | Attack rate per 1,000 of population at each year, of age. | No. of deaths. | Fatality per cent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0— | 2,492 | 69.2 | 313 | 12.5 | 10- | 56 | 1.8 | - | - |
| 1— | 2,327 | 73.5 | 235 | 10.1 | ll— | 43 | 1.4 | — | — |
| 2— | 2,297 | 7.31 | 76 | 3.3 | 12— | 21 | .6 | 1 | 4.7 |
| 3— | 2,129 | 64.5 | 48 | 2.2 | 13— | 21 | .7 | - | - |
| 4— | 1,808 | 54.3 | 30 | 1.6 | 14— | 7 | .2 | — | - |
| 5— | 1,676 | 52.2 | 9 | .5 | 15—25 | 42 | .1 | - | - |
| 6— | 1,163 | 36.4 | 8 | .7 | 25—60 | 45 | .1 | — | — |
| 7— | 584 | 18.9 | l | .1 | 60 & upwards | 2 | .02 | — | |
| 8— | 266 | 8.5 | 1 | .3 | |||||
| 9— | 114 | 3.8 | — | — | All ages | 15,093 | 722 | 4.7 |
* Whooping-cough, Its Prevalence and Mortality in Aberdeen," by James S. Laing, M.D., D.P.H. Revised
and extended by Professor Matthew Hay, M.D. Public Health, 1902.
1 See footnote ('), page 9.