London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Battersea 1907
Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea for the year 1907
This page requires JavaScript
82
hospital was as follows :—East Battersea, 95.0; North-West
Battersea, 97.1 ; South-West Battersea, 90.0.
Thirty-three deaths occurred in hospital, and 5 at home,
the case-mortality amongst the patients treated in hospital and
at home being 11.07 and 29.4 per cent. respectively.
The following table gives the age distribution of the cases
notified, and of the fatal cases.
The following table gives the age distribution of the cases notified, and of the fatal cases.
| Age Periods—Years. | Boro. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 5-10 | 10-15 | 15-25 | 25-65 | ||
| No. of Cases | 2 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 36 | 119 | 36 | 8 | 315 | |
| No. of Deaths | • • • | 9 | 6 | 7 | • • • | • • • | • • # | 38 | ||
| Case Mortality per cent. | • • • | 30.0 | 18.1 | 13.8 | 19.4 | 9.2 | • • • | 12.0 | ||
It will be seen that the chief incidence of the disease has
fallen upon young children. As many as 155 out of the 315
were of school age, which is almost the same proportion as last
year.
The total number of houses invaded by diphtheria was 281.
In 34 houses (i.e., 12 09 per cent.) the drainage was found
defective, and in 113 (i.e., 40 2 per cent.) insanitary conditions
other than drainage defects were discovered.
The source of infection in 213 of these cases was merely
conjectural. In 54 instances there was strong evidence pointing
to the school as the infecting source. In 24 cases there was
a history of direct personal infection. In 10 cases the patient
was infected outside the Borough. Six were cases of postscarlatinal
diphtheria, which developed in hospital, while the
patient was recovering from scarlet fever ; and in 4 cases
there were reasons to suspect that the house drains may have
been the source of infection.