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
Bethnal Green 1913
Report on the sanitary condition and vital statistics during the year 1913 together with the report of the Chief Sanitary Inspector
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34
every thousand persons, as against 18'3 in the County of
London.
DEATHS OF INFANTS.
Nearly one quarter (23.4 per cent.) of the total deaths
at all ages were those of infants in the first year of life;
these numbered 470 and give an infantile death rate of
117.5 per thousand births. This is a very considerable
increase on the figure for 1912, which was only 96. The
general metropolitan rate has also risen to 105 as against
90 for the previous year.
An inspection of the accompanying table of special
causes of infantile deaths will demonstrate the fact that
there has been an improvement in all causes except one,
and that the great increase of mortality was due to deaths
from Diarrhoea, a disease which was epidemic in the
autumn of 1913.
Tubercular Meningitis and Tabes Mesenterica each
caused five deaths, other forms of tuberculosis caused six,
a total of sixteen, which gives a mortality of 4.0 on the
births.