London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hackney 1872

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]

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TABLE IV.

1861-72—Deaths from S even Epidemic Diseases. Hackney.

186118621863186418651866186718681869187018711872
49°449° 550°348°550°349 8480650°649° 548°748°750°7
124112631276616400111
Measles3632377922261564402559
Scarlet fever588312564986849492471818551
Diphtheria.2427s4152212161416987
Whooping Cough6256284856897244102397697
Fever5589497775765460513450
Diarrhoea552560711251627512097115123"5
Totals29131437536640446431732059245i751490

This table, No. 4, shows the extreme severity of the late
epidemic of small-pox, as in 1871 this disease destroyed 400
persons out of a total of 751 who died from these seven epidemic
diseases, and in 1872, 111 out of 490, whilst in 1861 there was
only 1 death registered in Hackney out of 291. It must not,
however, be supposed that the difference is so great as appears
here, because I have not been able to obtain the returns of
deaths from small-pox in hospitals outside the district before
1871, and, therefore, although allowance was made in the total
mortality, yet they were not included in this table. For future
years, however, the number of deaths from small-pox of
residents in the district will be comparable with those of 1871
and 1872. I may also mention that the number of deaths
enumerated for 1871 and 1872 are those of residents only, as I
have excluded 471 deaths of non-residents iu 1871, and 303 in
1872, which happened in the small-pox and fever hospitals.
In my last report I stated that measles would probably
prevail in 1872 and 1873, and so far my prognostication has
proved correct, as 59 deaths were registered from-this disease
against 25 in 1871, and 40 in 1870. As regards scarlet fever