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
Westminster 1893
Annual report on the sanitary condition of the Parishes of St. Margaret & St. John, Westminster ending December, 1893.
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in order to admit of the thorough disinfection and fumigation of
the rooms and other parts of the building, by which means anything
like a serious outbreak was effectually checked.
By means of a troublesome correspondence, and by the willing
co-operation of the medical sttaff of the Asylums Board, I was
enabled to ascertain that of the 44 adults, not one had been revaccinated
since infancy; and of the 3 children, two had not
been vaccinated at all. Under these circumstances, I consider it
fortunate that not one of these cases terminated fatally.
Erysipelas was in excess of last year, being 82 cases, and 4
deaths in the parish and 2 outside, instead of 77 cases and 7
deaths which took place in 1892.
The following is a table of cases notified each month, and also the deaths that occurred in the parishes of the undermentioned diseases:—
| Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Small Pox. | Croup. | Enteric Fever. | Puerperal Fever. | Cholera. | Erysipelas. | Measles. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases | Deaths | Cases | Deaths | Cases | Deaths | Cases | Deaths | Cases | Deaths | Cases | Deaths | Cases | Deaths | Cases | Deaths | Cases | Deaths | |
| January | 9 | ... | 7 | 2 | 3 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 3 | ... | 2 | ... |
| February | 13 | ... | 5 | ... | 4 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | 5 | ... | 5 | ... |
| March | 19 | ... | 5 | ... | 11 | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | l | ... | ... | 7 | ... | 14 | ... |
| April | 11 | ... | ... | ... | 11 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 8 | ... | 9 | ... |
| May | 37 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 9 | ... | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | 9 | ... | 4 | ... |
| June | 42 | ... | 3 | ... | 4 | ... | ... | ... | 9 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 5 | ... | 4 | ... |
| July | 50 | 2 | 14 | 2 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 9 | 1 | 5 | ... |
| August | 31 | 1 | 3 | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 4 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 3 | 1 | 5 | ... |
| September | 66 | 1 | 6 | ... | 3 | ... | ... | ... | 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 12 | ... | 3 | ... |
| October | 48 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 5 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 8 | ... | 2 | ... |
| November | 55 | ... | 13 | 6 | ... | ... | ... | 2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 10 | 2 | 78 | ... |
| December | 29 | ... | 7 | 3 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 3 | ... | 92 | 3 |
| 410 | 6 | 82 | 15 | 47 | ... | 1 | 6 | 40 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 82 | 4 | 223 | 3 | |
It will be seen that apparently the deaths from croup exceed
the number of cases notified, but they occurred in young children
after very short illnesses, and were not cases of membranous
croup.
It is a matter of congratulation that the Sanitary Committee
and Vestry have now a most excellent mortuary completed in
the parish, where post-mortem examinations can be held in a
large room provided for the purpose, without any of the former