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 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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Altogether 872, or 63.6 per cent., of the deaths of persons belonging to Shoreditch
took place in public institutions.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
The infectious diseases included under the headings 1 to 35 and 171 in Table V
(Appendix) were the cause of 275 deaths, a number which is very greatly below the
average for previous years. The chief reason for this is the comparatively low mortality
from measles, whooping cough, influenza, diarrhoea, and tuberculosis. The deaths
from the diseases under the headings specified amounted to only 20.0 per cent. of the
total mortality from all causes as compared with 25.7 in 1922, 26.6 in 1921, 25.0 in
1920, 28.5 in 1919, 37.7 in 1918, and 30.2 in 1917. Tuberculosis accounted for 58.5
per cent. of these deaths. The death-rate due to these diseases was 2.6 per 1,000
population as compared with 4.2 in 1922, 3.8 in 1921, 3.9 in 1920, 4.5 in 1919, 9.1 in
1918, 6.8 in 1917, and 5.6 in 1916. The high rate of 1918 was due to the heavy
mortality from influenza.
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 | 35 | 53 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 38 | 43 | 31 | 19 | 7 | 3 | ... |
Of the total mortality from all causes of children under five years, 25.8 per cent.
resulted from these infectious diseases. In infants under one year diarrhœa, tuberculosis,
and whooping cough accounted for most of the deaths. Amongst children
aged from one to five years, measles, diphtheria, tuberculosis, whooping cough, and
scarlet fever may be mentioned as the chief causes of death. Most of the mortality
from infectious diseases amongst persons aged 15 years and upwards was the result
of consumption and influenza.
The deaths from the principal zymotic diseases—viz., smallpox, measles,
scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough, enteric fever, and diarrhoea, excluding
enteritis under two years—numbered 67, the death-rate being 0.6 per 1,000 population.
A comparison of the zymotic death-rates of London and Shoreditch and the eight
wards of the Borough is given in Table VI (Appendix). The rate was highest in
Church and Hoxton Wards and lowest in Moorfields.
The cases of smallpox, diphtheria, scarlet fever, erysipelas, enteric fever, and
puerperal fever numbered 825 as compared with 23,054 for the Metropolis, the
attack-rates being 7.7 and 5.0 per 1,000 population respectively.
Subjoined is a list of the infectious diseases which were notifiable during the year,
excluding pulmonary tuberculosis, showing the number of cases certified in the Borough