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84
It is very probable, however, that this list does not contain all
the deaths from phthisis which occur in Finsbury. Many are
doubtless concealed on the death certificates, and wrongly entered
as due to pneumonia, bronchitis, pleurisy, asthma, or influenza.
Enquiry was made into the length of residence of each case in
the Borough, and as to the duration of the disease. Adopting
the classification indicated in an earlier part of this report, it
was found that out of 151 draths, 103 patients were Finsbury
cases by residence and infection, that is, they had lived in the
Borough for five years, and had presumably been infected with
the disease since their arrival in Finsbury. Fourteen patients
had lived in the Borough less than five years, but had been infected
since they had come to reside in the district, that is to
say, they were Finsbury cases by infection, and not by residence.
Twenty-nine persons were considered on this basis to be not
Finsbury cases, that is, they had definite signs of phthisis when
they came into the Borough, and had not lived here five years.
Five were Finsbury cases by residence—that is, they had
lived here for 5 years, although there was reason to believe that
they had phthisis before coming to Finsbury.
If wc include only the Finsbury cases by infection, and by
residence and infection, these amount to 117, which may reasonably
be associated with the Borough, and give a corresponding
death rate from phthisis of 1.38 per thousand inhabitants. Allotted
to districts, 107 belong to Clerkenwell, 42 to St. Luke, and 2 to
St. Sepulchre.
Of the whole number of deaths, 1,558, in Finsbury in 1913, 9.7
per cent, were due to phthisis, as against 10 and 9.3 per cent, in
1912 and 1911 respectively. Nearly four-fifths of the deaths due
to phthisis took place between 25 and 65 years, the period of
maximum working efficiency in men—the "working life" period,
when their earnings are most needed and their usefulness greatest.
Sixty died in the poor law institutions.