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
Islington 1909
Fifty-fourth annual report on the health and sanitary condition of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington
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119
[1909
FATALITY FROM THE NOTIFIABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
By fatality is meant the percentage proportion of deaths to the cases
notified. During the year the mortality amounted altogether to only 87, which is
the smallest number of deaths among these diseases recorded since their notification
became compulsory. As there were 2,049 cases, the fatality was at the
rate of 4.2 per cent., which is the lowest of which there is any record.
It will be noticed in the following figures that there has been a steady diminution in the fatality since 1896.
| Years. | Cases. | Deaths. | Fatality. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1891 | 2,059 | 258 | 12.5 |
| 1892 | 3,318 | 291 | 87 |
| 1893 | 4,853 | 383 | 7.9 |
| 1894 | 3,121 | 339 | 10.8 |
| 1895 | 2,839 | 266 | 9.3 |
| 1896 | 3,824 | 390 | 10.2 |
| 1897 | 2,906 | 258 | 8.8 |
| 1898 | 2,418 | 173 | 7.1 |
| 1899 | 2,943 | 238 | 8.1 |
| 1900 | 2,276 | 202 | 8.8 |
| 1901 | 2,852 | 250 | 8.7 |
| 1902 | 3,164 | 268 | 8.4 |
| 1903 | 1,707 | 108 | 6.3 |
| 1904 | 1,941 | 119 | 6.1 |
| 1905 | 1,928 | 107 | 5.5 |
| 1906 | 2.275 | 115 | 5.0 |
| 1907 | 2,063 | 100 | 4.8 |
| 1908 | 2,289 | 126 | 5.5 |
| 1909 | 2,049 | 87 | 4.2 |
| Total | 50,825 | 4,078 | 8.0 |
This decrease will be better seen when these figures are split up into quinquennial periods.
| Years. | Cases. | Deaths. | Fatality. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1891—1895 | 16,190 | 1,537 | 9.5 |
| 1896—1900 | 14,367 | 1,261 | 8.8 |
| 1901- 1905 | 11,592 | 852 | 7.3 |
| 1906—1909 (4 years) | 8,676 | 428 | 4.9 |
Thus we see that the fatality has fallen from 8.8 to 4.9, or no less than
44 3 per cent., during the last four years when compared with 1896-1900. The
diseases among which these reductions have occurred will be shown under their
separate headings.
Hospital Isolation.—Out of the 2,049 cases, 1,705, or 83 2 per cent.,
were treated in hospital, while 344, or 16.8 per cent, remained at home. The
percentage of cases isolated in hospital is the largest that has hitherto obtained
in the borough.