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 1902
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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Deaths from small-pox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, including membranous
croup, whooping cough, enteric fever and diarrhoea, together numbered 420, and the
death rate due these diseases, which is termed the zymotic death-rate, was 3.6 per 1000
inhabitants as compared with 2.9 in 1901, 3.1 in 1900, 36 in 1899, 4.2 in 1897, 4.3 in
1896 and 3.8 in 1895. If it had not been for the mortality from small-pox the zymotic
death-rate would have been as low as in 1901. A comparison of the zymotic deathrates
of London and Shoreditch and its registration sub-districts is contained in Table
VI, (see Appendix).
The cases of notifiable infectious disease certified during 1902 numbered 1,993.
This figure includes 754 cases of chicken-pox, which dis3ase was made notifiable in
Shoreditch by the Borough Council for the period of one year commencing with the
first March. The London County Council also made chicken-pox a notifiable disease
for the whole metropolis about the same time but for a shorter period, which period
was extended two or three times until the beginning of the year 1903 when chickenpox
ceased to be notifiable generally in London, though it remained notifiable in
Shoreditch until February 28th of the current year. The notification of chicken-pox
was considered necessary with a view to the prevention of cases of mild small-pox
being overlooked, the two diseases not infrequently being mistaken for each other. So
far as the experience in Shoreditch is concerned the notification of chicken-pox was,
although helpful in this direction, not of very great value.
Excludine the cases of chicken-nox the number of cases of infectious disease notified was 1,239.
The number of cases certified since 1889 when the notification of certain infectious diseases became compulsory, together with the attack-rates per 1000 inhabitants are as contained in the subjoined table:—
| Year. | Number of cases. | Attack-rate per 1,000 inhabitants. |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 1158 | 9.4 |
| 1891 | 862 | 7.0 |
| 1892 | 1478 | 12.0 |
| 1893 | 1987 | 16.2 |
| 1894 | 1104 | 9.0 |
| 1895 | 1157 | 9.4 |
| 1896 | 1473 | 12.1 |
| 1897 | 1331 | 10.9 |
| 1898 | 960 | 7.8 |
| 1899 | 1116 | 9.2 |
| 1900 | 989 | 8.1 |
| 1901 | 1146 | 9.8 |
| 1902 | 1239 | 10.5 |
If it had not been for the outbreak of small-pox the number of cases of infectious
disease notified and the attack-rate per 1000 inhabitants would have been as low as in
1891. The cases notified in the Metropolis during - the year under consideration
excluding 25,708 cases of chicken-pox which were certified, numbered 46,082 and the
attack-rate was 10 0 per 1000 inhabitants.