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 1899
Annual report for 1899 of the Medical Officer of Health
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Table VIII.—Notifications per 10,000 of Population.
| Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria and Membranous Croup. | Enteric Fever. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | 1890-8 | 1899 | 1898 | 1890-8 | 1899 | 1899. | |
| Chelsea (Home District) | 35.4 | 44.4 | 29.9 | 20.3 | 29.6 | 18.0 | 5.7 |
| Kensington | 27.5 | 36.3 | 25.6 | 12.9 | 17.0 | 14.9 | 6.2 |
| Fulham | 66.0 | 48.9 | 65.5 | 38.8 | 25.4 | 40.8 | 8.6 |
| Hammersmith | 43.3 | 41.5 | 40.6 | 15.3 | 21.4 | 17-6 | 10.6 |
| Paddington | 23.9 | 37.1 | 29.8 | 20.5 | 21.1 | 15.9 | 7.6 |
| St. George's, Hanover Square | 27.4 | 35.0 | 24.5 | 13.8 | 13.4 | 11.3 | 5.7 |
| Westminster | 18.8 | 36.3 | 38.3 | 24.1 | 17.3 | 19.5 | 8.7 |
| St. James' | 13.9 | 31.7 | 22.3 | 19.3 | 15.3 | 16.9 | 15.5 |
| West London | 35.1 | 39.8 | 36.0 | 21. | 20.9 | 20.9 | 7.9 |
| London | 37.6 | 49.8 | 39.9 | 26.4 | 24.5 | 30.2 | 9.8 |
The above table shows that in West London, as a whole, there
was about the same amount of scarlet fever in 1899 as in 1898. In
Fulham, scarlet fever maintained itself at the same high rate as in the
two previous years, 1897 and 1898. In Westminster, there was nearly
twice as much scarlet fever in 1899 as in 1898, whilst in Hammersmith,
although the rate was a high one (40 - 6 per 10,000), it was slightly less
than in 1898.
As regards diphtheria, there was a slight diminution of cases in
West London, five parishes, including Chelsea, showing a small decrease,
and three parishes a small increase. In Fulham, the prevalence
of this disease increased slightly over the high prevalence obtaining in
1898, the past year (1899) being the seventh in succession in which the
diphtheria case-rate in this parish has maintained itself at a high
figure, being in fact more than double the case-rate of any other
of the West London parishes. Both as regards scarlet fever and
diphtheria, Fulham has been singularly unfortunate of recent years.
It will be noticed from the table, that during the past ten years,
when compulsory notification has been in force, West London has
suffered less, proportionally to its population, from scarlet fever and
diphtheria, than has London as a whole.
Enteric Fever. —The number of cases of enteric fever notified in
Chelsea in 1899 were 64. The cases annually notified since 1890 are
as follows: —1890, 63 cases; 1891, 46 cases; 1892, 44 cases; 1893,
77 cases; 1894, 95 cases; 1895, 76 cases; 1896, 68 cases; 1897, 53
oases; 1898, 56 cases; 1899, 64 cases. In 1899, the Chelsea home
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