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
Lewisham 1903
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lewisham]
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44
Measles and Whooping Cough are also commonest amongst
the younger children. These facts alone show the necessity of
serious consideration being given to the immediate necessity of
raising the age for school attendance, and the abolition of the
practice which at present pertains of receiving into stuffy infant
class-rooms children below the age of four and five years, inviting
infectious disease which too often proves fatal. I referred to this
evil in my report of 1901, and think it is a subject which your
Council should consider and represent to the School Governing
Authorities.
Table 20.
Age Periods
| Age Periods. | Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | Total. | Percentage to Total Cases. | Males | Females. | Total. | Percentage to Total Cases. | |
| Under 1 year | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1.12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2.0 |
| 1 to 2 years | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1.12 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 3.2 |
| 2 „ 3 „ | 21 | 10 | 31 | 6.92 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 6.8 |
| 3 ,, 4 ,, | 20 | 16 | 36 | 8.04 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 8.4 |
| 4 „ 5 „ | 24 | 24 | 48 | 10.72 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 8.0 |
| 5 „ 10 „ | 70 | 98 | 168 | 37.50 | 63 | 51 | 114 | 45.6 |
| 10 „ 15 „ | 41 | 44 | 85 | 18.98 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 11.6 |
| 15 „ 25 „ | 19 | 35 | 54 | 12.05 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 6.4 |
| 25 years and over | 8 | 8 | 16 | 3.56 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 8.0 |
| At all ages | 209 | 239 | 448 | 100.00 | 125 | 125 | 250 | 100.0 |
Case Mortality.—The case mortality of the various
infectious diseases is represented by the percentage of fatal cases
to the number of persons attacked.