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
Battersea 1896
Report upon the public health and sanitary condition of the Parish of St. Mary, Battersea during the year1896
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110
has been some increase in the incidence of the disease in the first
two life-periods. This has been coincident with some diminution
in the practice of vaccination.
The following table shows the death-rates in England and Wales from Small-Pox per million living during the seven years from 1848-54, and for each decennium since that period. It is to be remembered that, as already stated, the deaths for the years from 1848-54 include those from Chicken-Pox as well as SmallPox:—
| - | Under 5. | 5-10. | 10-15. | 15-25 | 25-45. | 45 andupwards. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1848-54 | 1,514 | 323 | 91 | 110 | 69 | 24 |
| 1855-64 | 788.8 | 209.5 | 68.7 | 118.9 | 87.8 | 36.2 |
| 1865-74 | 782.5 | 333.2 | 142.3 | 267.2 | 220.7 | 87.5 |
| 1875-84 | 127.8 | 62.9 | 46.4 | 82.4 | 76.6 | 33.9 |
| 1885-94 | 50.2 | 14.9 | 1l.l | 24.0 | 31.6 | 19.0 |
It is right to observe that there must have been among those
whose age exceeded 10 a certain number who had been revaccinated.
The effect of this operation would be to restore protection,
if protection there be, and to place the re-vaccinated in a
somewhat similar relation to those of the same age who had been
once vaccinated, as vaccinated children bear to unvaccinated.
It is not possible to ascertain the number of re-vaccinated persons
in the class over 10 years of age in the two epochs respectively.
But it seems clear that the mass of the people were not at either
epoch re-vaccinated, and we do not think that the number of the
re-vaccinated was sufficiently large to affect materially the value
of any inferences to be drawn from the contrast to which we
have directed attention. We may observe, however, that in
discussing the effect of vaccination the question of re-vaccination
will have to be considered, and that any phenomena exhibited by
the class of re-vaccinated persons, when compared with those of
a similar age who have only been vaccinated in infancy, have a
similar relevancy to the contrast afforded in the case of vaccinated
and unvaccinated persons of a similar age.