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 1915
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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amounted to 50.5 per cent. of the total number of deaths from infections diseases,
and of the remainder measles, whooping cough, and diarrhoea accounted for the
greater number. The death-rate from these infectious diseases was 6.3 per
1,000 inhabitants.
In the subjoined table the deaths from the infectious diseases referred to above have been grouped according to age :—
| Age period. | Under 1 | 1-5 | 5-10 | 10-15 | 15-20 | 20-25 | 25-35 | 35-45 | 45-55 | 55-65 | 65-75 | 75-85 | 85 and upwards. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of deaths | 138 | 155 | 33 | 15 | 28 | 28 | 57 | 66 | 71 | 34 | 23 | 7 | 1 |
Of the total number of deaths of children under 5 years of age .39.5 per cent.
resulted from the infectious diseases referred to. In infants under the age of
1 year, measles, whooping cough, diarrhoea, and tuberculosis accounted for most
of the deaths. Amongst children aged from 1 to 5 years, measles, whooping
cough, diarrhoea, diphtheria, and tuberculosis caused most of the deaths.
Consumption was the chief cause of the mortality from infectious diseases amongst
persons aged 20 years and upwards.
The deaths from the principal zymotic diseases—namely, small pox, measles,
scarlet fever, diphtheria, including membranous croup, whooping cough, enteric
fever and diarrhoea*—numbered 222 and the death-rate, which is termed the
zymotic death-rate, was 2.1 per 1,000 population. The zymotic death-rate
was markedly below the average for previous years. A comparison of the
zymotic death-rates of London and Shoreditch and the 8 wards of the Borough
is given in Table VI. (Appendix). The rate was highest in Whitmore Ward
and lowest in Moorfields, being 3.8 and 0.9 per 1,000 population respectively.
Excluding the cases of cerebro-spinal fever, acute anterior poliomyelitis,
ophthalmia neonatorum, chicken pox which was notifiable during the second
quarter of the year, and the cases of tuberculosis, 1,020 cases of notifiable infectious
disease were certified, an increase of 146 on the figure for 1914, the attack-rate
being 9'9 per 1,000 population.
The cases of notifiable infectious disease certified in the Metropolis during 1915
excluding those of anthrax, glanders, pulmonary tuberculosis, ophthalmia
neonatorum, measles, cerebro-spinal fever, acute anterior poliomyelitis and chicken
pox, numbered 31,155 giving an attack-rate of 6'9 per 1,000 population.
* Not including enteritis in children under 2 years.