Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Annual report for 1907 of the Medical Officer of Health
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The above Table shows that scarlet fever was most prevalent in
Hammersmith, and diphtheria in Fulham, during the year 1907. The
prevalence of scarlet fever in the Western Boroughs of London was
much less in 1907 than in the Eastern and Southern districts of the
Metropolis. The greatest prevalence was in the Borough of Stepney,
where scarlet fever became epidemic in the early summer, and continued
in epidemic form for the remainder of the year. The Stepney case-rate
per 10,000 of its population for the year 1907, is 102—double that of
London generally, and 3½ times that of Chelsea.
Removals to Hospitals.—Table XVIII. exhibits the removals of
patients suffering from scarlet fever, diphtheria, and enteric fever, to
the M.A.B. and other hospitals, in each of the 18 years, 1890-1907,
expressed as percentages of the total number of cases of each disease
notified.
Table XVIII.—Cases removed to Hospital per cent. of Total.
| Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Enteric Fever. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 38 | 20 | 29 |
| 1891 | 40 | 15 | 22 |
| 1892 | 48 | 27 | 32 |
| 1893 | 50 | 41 | 38 |
| 1894 | 71 | 58 | 63 |
| 1895 | 55 | 62 | 51 |
| 1896 | 61 | 56 | 56 |
| 1897 | 76 | 67 | 54 |
| 1898 | 74 | 74 | 54 |
| 1899 | 77 | 76 | 69 |
| 1900 | 81 | 80 | 71 |
| 1901 | 78 | 63 | 72 |
| 1902 | 90 | 83 | 67 |
| 1903 | 91 | 88 | 62 |
| 1904 | 86 | 80 | 77 |
| 1905 | 92 | 87 | 94 |
| 1906 | 90 | 88 | 65 |
| 1907 | 91 | 91 | 81 |
Cerebrospinal Fever.—Three cases of this disease were notified in
Chelsea in 1907, all proving fatal. In all three cases the diplococcus
intracellularis of Weichselbaum was found in the cerebro-spinal fluid
withdrawn by lumbar puncture. The ages and sex of the patients
were as follows:—female, 2| years ; male, 4 months ; female, 2 months.
All the children came from very poor homes, the familes in each case
being practically destitute. Two of the deaths occurred in the Victoria
Hospital, and one in the Chelsea Infirmary.
Six other deaths were registered in Chelsea during the year as
being due to non-tubercular meningitis, 4 of these being infants under
one year of age. In one case of fatal meningitis that was reported,