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
Shoreditch 1900
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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15
Dr. R. Barnes, at that time medical officer of health for Shoreditch, states that they
far from represented the extent to which the disease had prevailed and he estimated
the number of persons who took small-pox in Shoreditch that year to have exceeded a
1000. There is no doubt that of late years a very great decrease has taken place, not
only in Shoreditch but throughout the country generally, with respect to the prevalence
of small-pox, notwithstanding the occurrence of serious outbreaks here and
there, such as that which Gloucester suffered from a few years ago. The question
arises, what is this decrease due to ? It may be that the great strides in sanitation
which have been made during the past 20 years or so, more especially in the direction
of improving the sanitary condition of the dwellings of the poor, have exerted
some influence in the prevention of the spread of infection, but I am not in a position
to say anything as to the extent this influence may have been operative in the
prevention of small-pox.
It will be perhaps as well here to make a few remarks respecting the practice of
VACCINATION
In the following table are contained the percentages of children born, not finally accounted for as regards vaccination, including postponed cases, each year from 1872 to 1897, for Shoreditch, the Metropolis and the rest of England.
| Year. | Shoreditch | Metropolis. | Rest of England. | Year. | Shoreditch | Metropolis. | Rest of England. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1872 | 10.9 | 8.8 | 4.5 | 1885 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 5.5 |
| 1873 | 9.7 | 8.7 | 4.2 | 1886 | 6.3 | 7.8 | 6.1 |
| 1874 | 12.9 | 8.8 | 4.1 | 1887 | 5.6 | 9.0 | 6.7 |
| 1875 | 12.9 | 9.3 | 3.8 | 1888 | 3.7 | 10.3 | 8.2 |
| 1876 | 11.8 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 1889 | 5.5 | 11.6 | 9.6 |
| 1877 | 14.5 | 7.1 | 4.1 | 1890 | 9.3 | 13.9 | 10.9 |
| 1878 | 12.2 | 7.1 | 4.3 | 1891 | 8.8 | 16.4 | 12.9 |
| 1879 | 12.8 | 7.8 | 4.5 | 1892 | 10.8 | 18.4 | 14.3 |
| 1880 | 12.2 | 7.0 | 4.5 | 1893 | 16.2 | 18.2 | 15.7 |
| 1881 | 10.3 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 1894 | 33.9 | 20.6 | 19.0 |
| 1882 | 120 | 6.6 | 4.5 | 1895 | 47.5 | 24.9 | 19.8 |
| 1883 | 7.6 | 6.5 | 4.9 | 1896 | 55.5 | 26.4 | 22.3 |
| 1884 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 1897 | 67.4 | 29.1 | 21.6 |