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
Heston and Isleworth 1898
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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12
Infectious Disease.
The number of cases notified during the year was 1015. This means that 1 in every 30 of the total population of the District was attacked by some form of infection, and it is a number far in excess of that recorded during the 5 years immediately preceding, as a glance at the following table will show:
| Year. | Number of Cases notified. |
|---|---|
| 1898 | 1015 |
| 1897 | 184 |
| 1896 | 292 |
| 1895 | 296 |
| 1894 | 281 |
| 1893 | 687 |
The sudden jump from 184 in 1897 to 1015 in 1898 is due to the
Epidemic of Measles which prevailed during the early spring months the
number of cases notified having reached the large total of 857. When
dealing with the Zymotic Death Rate I showed you how the increase in that
rate was due to the number of deaths from Diarrhoea and I briefly touched
upon a few points in connection with that disease. I propose now in like
manner to say a few words upon the subject of Measles, with particular
reference to its inclusion amongst notifiable infectious diseases.
The definition of infectious diseases was extended in this District to
include Measles in the month of February 1891. This order was rescinded
at the end of July 1894. The order for compulsory notification again came
into force on September 14th, 1896, and by the decision of the Local
Government Board it cannot be again rescinded until September 1901.
The following table shows the number of deaths due to Measles from 1890 to the present time and it likewise shows the number of cases notified in those years when the notification of this disease was in force.
| Year. | No. of cases notified. | Deaths. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | 857 | 27 | |
| 1897 | 31 | 2 | |
| Order for Compulsory Notification came into force on Sept. 14th, 1896 | 1896 | 9 | 14 |
| 1895 | 539 | 17 | |
| Previous order rescinded July, 1894 | 1894 | 80 | 4 |
| 1893 | 343 | 6 | |
| 1892 | 89 | 4 | |
| Notification of Infectious Diseases Act applied to Measles on February, 1891 | 1891 | 4 | |
| 1890 | 952 | 30 |