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 1895
Annual report for 1895 of the Medical Officer of Health
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population, Kensal Town should have taken 23 per cent, of the total
cases, or in proportion to its 1895 estimated popoulation 24.8 per cent,
of the total cases, that is to say 82 cases of this disease instead of only
32. Out of the total 300 cases of diphtheria occurring in the home
district in 1895, 147, or 49 per cent., were notified in the last four
months of the year.
Enteric Fever showed a slight decrease in 1895, as compared with
1894. As usual, the greatest prevalence was in the last four months of
the year, 45 out of the total of 66 cases in the home district, or 68.2 per
cent., having been notified in these months. It it probable that a considerable
percentage of these cases contracted the infection outside
Chelsea. The number of cases of enteric fever occurring in Kensal
Town in 1895 was only 10, or 13.2 per cent, of the total 76 cases in the
parish. In proportion to its 1895 estimated population, Kensal Town
should have had 24.8 per cent, of the total, that is to say 19 cases.
The following Table IX. shows the case mortality, or percentage of deaths to notifications, of scarlet fever, diphtheria, and enteric fever in Chelsea and in London in each of the six years 1890-5. Table IX.—Case Mortality in Chelsea and in London, 1890-5.
| Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Enteric Fever. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea. | London. | Chelsea. | London. | Chelsea. | London. | |
| 1890 | 7.0 | 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 |
| 1895 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 17.2 | 20.3 | 18.4 | 16.5 |
This Table shows that, as regards scarlet fever, the type of the
disease prevailing in Chelsea, judging from the tendency to a fatal
termination, corresponds very closely with that common to the metropolis
as a whole. Diphtheria, excluding from consideration the year 1891,
which was exceptional, appears to be in Chelsea somewhat less fatal than
the same disease in London generally, and this apparent mildness of
type is exhibited to nearly the same extent in each of the years under
review. The small number of cases of enteric fever occurring in any
one year in Chelsea are insufficient to exclude purely accidental fluctuations
in the case mortality.
Table X. exhibits the removals of patients suffering from scarlet
fever, diphtheria, and enteric fever from their homes to hospitals, in each
of the six years 1890-5, expressed as percentages of the total number of
cases notified.