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
St Pancras 1894
Report upon the cause of the increae of mortality from diphtheria in London
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| Year. | England and Wales. | 28 large Towns. | London. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871 | 0.11 | – | 0.10 |
| 1872 | 0.09 | – | 0.08 |
| 1873 | 0.11 | – | 0.09 |
| 1874 | 0.15 | – | 0.12 |
| 1875 | 0.14 | – | 0.17 |
| 1876 | 0.13 | – | 0.11 |
| 1877 | 0.11 | – | 0.08 |
| 1878 | 0.14 | – | 0.15 |
| 1879 | 0.12 | – | 0.15 |
| 1880 | 0.11 | – | 0.14 |
| 1881 | 0.12 | – | 0.17 |
| 1882 | 0.15 | 0.16 | 0.22 |
| 1883 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.24 |
| 1884 | 0.18 | 0.17 | 0.24 |
| 1885 | 0.16 | 0.17 | 0.22 |
| 1886 | 0.15 | 0.16 | 0.20 |
| 1887 | 0.16 | 0.18 | 0.23 |
| 1888 | 0.17 | 0.21 | 0.30 |
| 1889 | 0.18 | 0.26 | 0.39 |
| 1890 | 0.18 | 0.24 | 0.33 |
In searching into the cause of this apparently persistent and progressive
increase of the mortality from diphtheria in London, the first point that
strikes one is that, unlike that of scarlet fever, the mortality of diphtheria is
not subject to great epidemic fluctuations, but, like that of typhoid fever, it is
comparative stead}', as the following diagram shows.
Diagram I.
LONDON.
Curves of Annual Death Rates per Million Living.
From the Registar General's Annual Summary of London and Great Towns.