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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13
The fatality, or case mortality, of Measles varies even in the same
District with different epidemics. The case mortality for this year is 3.15
and if the type of epidemic had been similar in the years 1895 and 1890 in
which the disease was not notified the number of cases which occurred in
those years would have been 539 and 952 respectively.
During the year the monthly notifications of Measles cases were as follows.
| January | 11 |
| February | 65 |
| March | 321 |
| April | 280 |
| May | 144 |
| June | 19 |
| July | 5 |
| August | 4 |
| September | 1 |
| October | 2 |
| November | 2 |
| December | 3 |
| Total 857 |
It will thus be seen that the epidemic covered a period of 4 months,
commencing in February, arriving at a maximum in March and subsiding
in June.
In the year 1890 as I have shown, there were 30 deaths from Measles
and no doubt it was in a great measure owing to this fact that you decided to
include Measles as a notifiable disease.
In 1893 there were 343 cases with a fatality of 174 per cent, the
difference of the case mortality between that year and the present being no
doubt due to the fact that the disease was prevalent in a milder form.
I have carefully examined the Annual Reports for some years past and
can find no mention of anything having been done to cope with the various
epidemics until the present year when my predecessor Mr. H. M. Bullock,
advised that the Spring Grove School should be closed for a period
extending from April 20th to May 9th and be subsequently advised that the