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

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Paddington 1870

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington]

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2
has since prevailed very generally. The quarterly deaths from
scarlet fever have been 26, 34, 44, 31, 30, 43, for the last 18
months, or double the normal average.
The diarrhoea cases are always high during the second
summer quarter—the large proportion being in children under one
year old. Mid-nutrition, ignorance of child-feeding, depraved
breast milk, or want of it, are the most prominent causes
of this form of' death, favoured as they are by the hot weather.
In looking over Table V. it will be seen that 9 deaths from
scarlet fever occur in one street—this indicates at least 100
cases of sickness, or centres of contagion in this one street—it is
certainly thickly populated—134 houses, with an average
population of not less than 15 inhabitants in each. Of which
700 or 800 are children going daily to and from schools, thus
likely to communicate and spread the disease. In this street
and in Amberly Road, a street of much the same character,
10 or 12 children may be found living in a house. The cubic
space or conditions of over-crowding are not such as either landlord
or Sanitary officers can judiciously meddle with; nor are
there any Sanitary defects demanding orders from the authorities.
It is purely a spread of contagion. The poor who live in
houses and streets less decent, and orderly, but where the doors
are always open, and the children are always in the street,
suffer less than those who are kept clean and orderly, and go
regularly to school.

TABLE II.

Deaths from Zymotic ani» other Diseases during 14 weeks ending October 1st, 1870.

Weeks. endingSmall-Pox.Measles.Scarlatina.Diphtheria, Quinsy & Croup.'Whooping CoughTyphus, Infantile and other Fevers.Carbuncle, †Erysipelas and Pyæmia.‡Dysentery and Diarrhoea.Cholera.Phthisis and Tubercular Dis.Bronchitis and Pneumonia.Other Diseases.Accidents and Violent Deaths.Total.
July 2313......7...8...22448
„ 0...11122...11...838138
„ 10...11......2...3...838...26
„ 23......2......2...10...7222146
„ 30......2...31...8...5318444
Aug. 6......21......16...6213...31
„ 13......1...1...15...5416134
„ 20......2. . ..........3...9213...29
„ 27...221.........2...7115333
Sept. 3......6...1............4310...24
„ 10......6......1...2...5313232
,, 17......7......1...1...2...11...22
„ 24......6............1...4214229
Oct. 1......2......1...1...6612331
...44341010260...843419521467

* These Cases stand on the Register thus:—Low Fever; Fever; Bilious Fever; Fever with
Hopatitis; Typhoid Fever ; Typhus Fever; Enteric Fever.
†Two deaths from Pyæmia arc in addition to those two of Ersyipelas included in the
violont doaths.
‡Four Cases are Choleric Diarrhœa.