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
Chelsea 1894
Annual report for 1894 of the Medical Officer of Health
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Table IX.—Case Mortality in Chelsea and in London, 1890-94.
| Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Enteric Fever. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea. | London. | Chelsea. | London. | Chelsea. | London. | |
| 1890 | 5.7 | 20.1 | 24.1 | 17.4 | 23.0 | |
| 1891 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 9.6 | 22.5 | 17.4 | 15.6 |
| 1892 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 22.2 | 23.9 | 13.6 | 17.2 |
| 1893 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 20.8 | 24.5 | 22.1 | 18.4 |
| 1894 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 20.2 | 24.0 | 14.7 | 17.9 |
These figures show that the type of these three diseases, as
regards severity and fatal terminations, corresponds in Chelsea
fairly closely with that common to the Metropolis as a whole;
except in respect of diphtheria in the year 1891, when either the
type of this disease in Chelsea was most unusually mild—the case
mortality being less than half that of London—or else there was a
considerable amount of notification under the head of diphtheria of
illnesses which had little in common with that disease—a conclusion
somewhat strengthened by the fact that in this year only 15 per
cent, of the notified diphtheria cases were removed to hospital
{see Table X.).
Table X. exhibits the removals of patients suffering from scarlet
fever, diphtheria, and enteric fever from their homes to hospitals, in
each of the five years 1890-4, expressed as percentages of the total
numbers of cases notified.
Table X.—Percentage Removals to Hospitals.
| Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Enteric Fever. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | |
| 1890 | 37 | 20 | 29 |
| 1891 | 40 | 15 | 22 |
| 1892 | 48 | 27 | 32 |
| 1893 | 50 | 41 | 38 |
| 1894 | 71 | 58 | 63 |
It is very satisfactory to find so large an increase in the percentage
of removals to hospital in the past year, and that this
increase has been a steadily progressive one since 1890, the year
following the introduction of compulsory notification. There can
be no doubt that the public are beginning to appreciate at their true
value the immense advantages offered to them for the isolation and
treatment of their infectious sick by the hospitals of the Metropolitan