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
Finsbury 1902
Report on the public health of 1902
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The relationship between the weekly number of deaths from Epidemic Diarrhæa and the temperature, as recorded by the four-foot earth thermometer, is shown the following Table :—
| Summer Quarter, 1902. | June | July. | August. | September. | Oct. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates of months. | 30-5 | 6-12 | 13- 19 | 20-26 | 27-2 Aug | 3-9 | 10-16 | 17- 23 | 24-30 | 31 Sept -6 | 7-13 | 14- 20 | 20- 27 | 28-4 Oct. | 5- 11 |
| Mean maximum temperature. Four-foot thermometer. | 52.4 | 56.4 | 57.2 | 57.8 | 57.7 | 57.7 | 57.7 | 57.8 | 58.1 | 58.1 | 58.1 | 57.7 | 56.7 | 56.1 | 55.1 |
| Rainfall (6.02 in.) | 0.58 | 0.35 | 0.01 | 0. 21 | 0.29 | 0.44 | 0.17 | 1.43 | 0.24 | 0.68 | 1.45 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 0.11 | 0.28 |
| No. of deaths from Epidemic Diarrhæa. (61) | - | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 3 | — |
This total figure of 61 is one of the lowest returns ever
recorded in the third quarter of the year in this district of
London (in 1901 it was 77). It would, therefore, appear as if
there was an exception to Ballard's law as quoted above. But, it
will be seen, mention is also made of the effect of the rainfall.
During 1902 the temperature conditions were favourable to
diarrhæa, that is, for 13 weeks of the summer quarter the earth
temperature was above 56°F. But in the same quarter there was a
fall of 6.02 inches of rain as compared with 5.10 in the summer
quarter of 1901. The two records of temperature and rainfall
must be taken together.*
(b) Epidemic Diarrhæa and the Feeding of Infants.—As
part of a larger investigation we have obtained some facts
* It is instructive to observe that London as a whole had, in general, the
same experience as our own. The diarrhæa death-rate for London in the
summer quarter of 1902 was 1.44 as compared with 2.79 in 1901. The Finsbury
rate for the summer quarter was 06. For the same reasons, in all probability,
a number of towns experienced a low diarrhoea death-rate in the summer quarter
of 1902 as compared with 1901. West Ham was 1.8 (6.3 in 1901); Brighton, 0.7
(2.9 in 1901); Wolverhampton, 1.1 (3.5 in 19o1); Birmingham 1.2 (49 in 1901);
Nottingham, 1.5 (5.0 in 1901); Bradford, 0.3 (3.0 in 1901); Sheffield, 1.3 (7.4 in
1901); and Gateshead, 0.8 (8.8 in 1901).