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

Kensington 1901

Annual report on the health, sanitary condition, etc., etc., of the Royal Borough of Kensington for the year 1901

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24
The information as to scarlet fever mortality in the borough, 1856-1901, set out in Appendix
II. (Tables B, C and D, pp. 123-124), shows the remarkable reduction which has taken placein
recent years; concurrently, it must be added, with an increased fatality from diphtheria.
The deaths from scarlet fever in London, as a whole, were 584, compared with 583, 398,
and 361, in the three preceding years, the corrected average being 847. Of the 584 deaths
510 or 87 per cent, occurred in public institutions. The cases notified numbered 18,387,.
compared with 13,812 in 1900; 18,812 in 1899; 16,917 in 1898; 22,876 in 1897 ; 25,638 in 1896 ;
19,757 in 1895; 18,440 in 1894; and 36,901 in 1893. The mortality was 3.2 per cent. on cases
notified, against 2.6 in 1900; 2.2 in 1899; 3.4 in 1898 and 1897; 37 in 1896; 41 in 1895;
5.2 in 1896, and 4.3 in 1893. About 81.5 per cent. of notified cases were admitted to hospitals.
The case-mortality in hospitals (admissions 14,944) was 364 per cent. These statistics indicate not
merely a diminished prevalence of the disease, but also a mortality so reduced as to suggest a
favourable change in the type of the disease.
The subjoined table shows the degree of prevalence of scarlet fever in the borough, and in
London, as a whole, as indicated by the number of notifications, and of deaths registered, in thirteen
successive four-weekly periods, as set out in my reports : —

Table: Scarlet Fever in 1901.

Scarlet Fever in 1901.

Report for four weeks endedNo. of Notifications.No. of cases admitted to Hospitals.No. of Deaths. Kensington. London.No. of cases. in Hospital at the end of the period.
Kensington.London.Kensington.London.
January 262681919678—352,078
February 2318722156272221,834
March 2323719186061261,598
April 2018765127021271,526
May 18311,528261,289—462,052
June 15321,497241,2951732,594
July 13471,718361,464--502,918
August 10561,639461,442—553,148
September 7441,360 2,210361,2123552,994
October 548421,770—493,157
November 2492,240421,651—563,391
November 30441,692871,4553383,278
December 28391,478301,2184523,137
47518,38738315,40915584

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The notifications are taken from the weekly returns of the Asylum; Board ; the admissions to, and the numbers in,
the hospitals, and the deaths in London, from the weekly returns of the Registrar-General.
For the sake of comparison, I subjoin the corresponding table for 1900, taken from the
report for that year.

Table: Scarlet Fever in 1900.

Scarlet Fever in 1900.

Report for four weeks endedNo.of Notifications.No. of cases admitted to Hospitals.No. of Deaths.No.of cases in Hospital at the end of the period.
Kensington.LondonKensington.London.Kensington.London.
January 2731951267631252,287
February 242883418650—262,009
March 242787322652—261,715
April 212988323711—271,676
May 192196618770—251,733
June 16221,06313823—811,766
July 14331,097298661351,861
August 112186818740—221,838
September 92382820686—231,736
October 6251,348211,143—252,071
November 3401,634291,304—332,570
December 1321,365261,0751332,727
December 29351,102278991302,535
36713,81229011,0784361

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Note.—Correction has not been made in the above tables for errors in diagnosis, either with respect to notifications
or admissions to hospital.
The following tables exhibit certain particulars of interest with respect to scarlet fever
prevalence, &c., during 1901, and the ten preceding years, 1891-1900:—