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

View report page

Battersea 1896

Report upon the public health and sanitary condition of the Parish of St. Mary, Battersea during the year1896

This page requires JavaScript

108
century (and there is no satisfactory evidence that there was a
difference in this respect in earlier centuries) Small-Pox was fatal
chiefly to children ; indeed, in particular local epidemics of which
we have records, the mortality was confined entirely, or almost
entirely, to that class of the population. Adults were at that time
very largely protected by a previous attack of Small-Pox.
Children were then the only class, for the most part, unprotected.
During the present century this cause of protection has largely
diminished ; it is now only a very small section of the community
which enjoys protection thus acquired. If, then, vaccination be
most potent in its effect during the first few years after the
inoculation of the vaccine matter, we should expect to find the
conditions which formerly existed reversed—children would be
the best, adults the worst protected class.
Applying ourselves now to the statistics on this head, we find
a remarkable change in the age incidence of Small-Pox mortality.
The following table exhibits the change which has taken place in
this respect. For the years 1848-54 cases of Chicken-Pox are
unavoidably included, there being no means of distinguishing
them. This, of course, tends to increase unduly the share of
mortality borne by the earlier age periods, but the information
which we possess with reference to Chicken-Pox mortality since
mortality from that disease has been separately recorded, enables
us to say that the error thus introduced cannot seriously affect the
comparison. From 1855 onwards Chicken-Pox has been uniformly
excluded, so that from that date there is nothing to affect it.

England and Wales: Deaths from Small-Pox at certain age periods to 1,000 deaths from Small-Pox at all ages.

-Under 1.1-55-1010-1515-2525-4545 and upwards.
1848-5425142613033756718
1855-592313281443711711231
1860-642373131084212313344
1865-692313141033312614548
1870-741431691405820022466
1875-791121291137221826690
1880-84113122986821628697
1885-89112815451229344129
1890-941661175226131338172