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
Whitechapel 1863
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Whitechapel]
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If orders, served upon landlords for removing nuisances injurious to health, are not complied with, such landlords may be rendered liable to a charge of criminal neglect, if death result in consequence of the non-removal of the nuisance.
| Date 1862 and 1863 | Deaths from Small pox, in entire District. | Pauper cases of Small-pox. | Deaths from Scarlet fever in entire District. | Pauper cases of Scarlet-fever. | Total deaths in eutire District. | Date, 1S63. | Deaths from Small pox in entire District. | Pauper cases of small - pox. | Deaths from Scarlet fever in entire District. | Pauper cases of Scarlet-fever. | Total deaths in entire District. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. | 25 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 58 | Feb. | 28 | 1 | r) | 5 | 3 | 49 |
| Nov. | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 37 | Mar. | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 65 |
| ,, | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 53 | ,, | 14 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 72 |
| ,, | 15 | I | 4 | 3 | 4 | 65 | ,, | 21 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 46 |
| ,, | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 53 | ,, | 28 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 75 |
| ,, | 29 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 58 | April | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 44 |
| Dec. | 6 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 50 | ,, | 1 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 71 |
| ,, | 13 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 48 | ,, | 18 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 39 |
| ,, | 20 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 61 | ,, | 25 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 53 |
| ,, | 27 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 47 | May | 2 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 66 |
| Jany. | 3 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 59 | ,, | 9 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 47 |
| ,, | 10 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 79 | ,, | 16 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 56 |
| ,, | 17 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 59 | ,, | 23 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 51 |
| ,, | 24 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 50 | ,, | 30 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 54 |
| ,, | 31 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 68 | June | 6 | 2 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 41 |
| Feb. | 7 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 49 | ,, | 13 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 34 |
| ,, | 14 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 43 | ,, | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 26 |
| ,, | 21 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 41 | ,, | 27 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 56 |
It appears from this table that the pauper cases of Small-pox exhibit a
much larger proportion to the deaths from this disease than is observed to have
been the case with Scarlet-fever. The total deaths from Small-pox since the
25th October, have been 67, and the number of pauper patients attacked have
been 255, while the total deaths from Scarlet-fever have been 168, and the cases
among the pauper population have been only 156. It therefore appears that
Small-pox has prevailed in a greater proportion than Scarlet-fever among the
poor ; while Scarlet-fever has been more fatal among the rate-payers generally,
and such has been its fatality in this district during the last six months, that the
deaths from it have exceeded in number the deaths from Small-pox and Fever
combined. The deaths from these two diseases combined having been 119, and
the deaths from Scarlet-fever 144. Since the 30th of March last 4 cases of Smallpox
from this District have been admitted to the Small-pox Hospital. From an
abstract of the returns of the Registrars of Births and Deaths which I have
prepared, I find that in 160 separate places in this district one or more deaths
have occurred in each from epidemic diseases within the last six months. In
some places as many as six or seven deaths have occurred. Thus, in Spitalfields
Market there have been 6 deaths from epidemic diseases; in Quaker Street and
Grey Eagle Street there have been 11 deaths, in George Street 8 deaths, in Castle
Alley 9, in Goulston Street 8, in Swan Court Middlesex Street 9, in Preston Street
5, in Spital Street, 5, in Cobb's Yard 5, in Cox Square 3, in Artillery Passage 3,
in Lambeth Street 6, in Leman Street 5, in Royal Mint Street 6, and in Whitechapel
Hihg Street and Road Side there have been 9 deaths from this class of
diseases.
In Jones' Buildings, a place in which the houses are without back
yards, and where a public water closet is situated within 18 inches of the window
of the lower room of one of the houses, the smell from which water closet is
greatly complained of by the tenants, The number of cases of illness which have
been attended by one Medical Practitioner, including paupers and private patients, in
these "Buildings" from the 14th March to the ,15th June has been 56; of these,,