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
Mile End 1861
Report of the Medical Officer of Health to the Vestry of Mile End Old Town
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11
it would have been perfectly consistent to have expected an
increase of diseases of a class which depends on decay of
organic matter for its principal promotion and support.
The general proportion of Zymotic diseases to those of an
ordinary kind, in Mile End, was nearly 1 to 6.
TABLE IV. DEATHS FROM THE SIX PRINCIPAL ZYMOTIC DISEASES.
| Wards. | Deaths from all causes. | Deaths from Zymotic Diseases. | Or in the proportion of 1 to |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 300 | 52 | 5.7 |
| East | 171 | 26 | 6.5 |
| West | 307 | 43 | 7 |
| Centre | 329 | 65 | 5 |
| South | 321 | 64 | 5 |
| W orkhouses | 99 | 9 | 11 |
| Hospitals | 6 | — | |
| 1,533 | 259 |
The six principal Zymotic diseases here used for calculation
are, Fever, Measles, Small Pox, Scarlatina, Diarrhoea,
and Whooping Cough. It would be very easy to add to
their number, but the means of comparison would, by such
addition, become impaired.
The number of deaths being exactly the same for the two
years, we have only to compare the actual number of deaths
from Zymotic diseases: this year the number was 259;
last year it was 403.