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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The deaths, therefore, of 15 years and over, having so little effect, the total
numbers have been taken in calculating the table of death-rates per million.
| Year. | Diphtheria. | Diseases of Throat other than Diphtheria. | Total Diseases of Throat. | Quinquennial Mean. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 172 | 321 | 493 | 562 |
| 1882 | 222 | 379 | 600 | |
| 1883 | 244 | 366 | 610 | |
| 1884 | 241 | 341 | 582 | |
| 1885 | 227 | 300 | 527 | |
| 1886 | 212 | 254 | 466 | 542 |
| 1887 | 235 | 278 | 513 | |
| 1888 | 319 | 236 | 555 | |
| 1889 | 391 | 216 | 607 | |
| 1890 | 331 | 237 | 568 | |
| 1891 | 340 | 177 | 518 | — |
In this table the progressive increase of mortality attributed to diphtheria
and the equally progressive decrease of mortality due to other throat
diseases in London are distinctly shown, the inverse ratio in the progression
being so well marked and corresponding so closely that the total of the two
classes of diseases shows no progressive variation, until the means of the
two quinquennia are compared, and then it appears that the mortality from
all throat diseases taken together is decreasing, a result for which the increase
in diphtheria mortality had scarcely prepared us. This diagram of curves of
annual death rates from diphtheria and from other throat diseases in
London graphically represents the change that has taken place.
Diagram II.
LONDON.—Curves of Annual Death Rates per million living.