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 1909

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

This page requires JavaScript

Text

Copy text to clipboard

55
It is thus seen that the increase was not manifested in one area only, and the distribution
suggests that the figures are in some degree governed by a condition widely operative. In this connection
it may be pointed out that the number of cases of erysipelas notified and the number of deaths
attributed to this cause were in 1909 greater than in 1908, recalling to memory the observations of
Dr. G. B. Longstaff in 1880 of the similarity in the behaviour of puerperal fever and erysipelas.
An account of puerperal fever occurring in the practice of midwives is referred to later in connection
with the administration of the Midwives Act, 1902, pp. 97, et seq.
Influenza, Bronchitis and Pneumonia.
The deaths attributed to influenza, which in 1908 numbered 1,350 (53 weeks), fell to 1,2161 in
1909 (52 weeks). The deaths from bronchitis numbered 6,1281 in 1909, as compared with 5,342 in
1908. In 1909 there were 7,591' deaths attributed to pneumonia, as compared with 6,751 in 1908.
The deaths from these diseases since 1889 have been as follows:—

Table: Influenza, Bronchitis and Pneumonia.

Influenza, Bronchitis and Pneumonia.

Year.Deaths1 from Influenza.Deaths1 from Bronchitis.Deaths 1 from Pneumonia.
189065212,4486,224
18912,33613,1366,915
18922,26411,1836,164
18931,52610,4137,198
18947507,8165,321
18952,15610,6335,989
18964967,5585,537
18976717,4085,053
18981,2837,7795,440
18991,8179,1956,666
19001,9508,6997,189
19016647,3176,121
19021,0737,9016,801
19036445,2405,826
19047096,3736,609
19056896,0496,965
19068955,3736,586
19079676,0107,538
19081,3505,3426,751
19091,2166,1287,591

Table: Ths distribution of deaths from influenza throughout the year for each of the years 1890 to 1909 is shown in the following table:— Influnza—Deaths1registered in London in four-weekly periods—1890-1909.

Ths distribution of deaths from influenza throughout the year for each of the years 1890 to 1909 is shown in the following table:— Influnza—Deaths1registered in London in four-weekly periods—1890-1909.

Number of weeks.18901891189218931894189518961897189818991900190119021903190419051906190719081909
1—430391,30852272593740244661,01657771416794562918761
5—816776379696164585536825929875224103621194418627690
9—12758119162691,3436194193430130134298897411998104424430
13—1639294218056257501211403021721028954627512981209257
17—201377033125321065096611211058158464056105489485
21—2451,044227227353354518257303537213840413646
25—286242154919281726254216212025171621252834
29—3265172317141518272712187185420141515
33—36332923201710131011111116691115181210
37—4061361814151219171915121317242218192115
41—44515202829222729465517233513923935423031
45—4813351815241475635496155446544984486394556
49—5226812854658495671523424656995113852228595786

Text

Copy text to clipboard

Phthisis.
The deaths from phthisis in the Administrative County of London during 1909 (52 weeks) numbered
6,337, as compared with 6,419 in 1908 (53 weeks).
1 See footnote (2), p. 45. The fully corrected deaths during 1909 from Influenza, Bronchitis and
Pneumonia were 1,202, 6,084 and 7,383 respectively, but the corresponding figures for previous years
are not available.
2 The deaths occurring in the 53rd week of the years 1890, 1896, 1902 and 1908 which are not
shown, numbered 1, 14, 37 and 16 respectively.
2057 H 2