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
Battersea 1912
Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea for the year 1912
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Small-pox.
No case of small-pox was notified in Battersea during 1912.
The number of cases of small-pox notified in the County of London
during the year was 6.
Contacts were watched on arrival within the Borough in connection
with small-pox cases that had occurred on board vessels
arriving from abroad. All such contacts were kept under observation
for a period of 16 days.
Scarlet Fever.
'l'he number of cases of scarlet fever notified in Battersea
during 1912 was 427. This was an increase of 31 per cent, over
that of 1911, which was the lowest number of cases ever previously
notified in the Old Parish or Borough. There are indications
that the quinquennial wave of epidemic prevalence of the
disease has begun to rise, and we may probably look forward to a
progressive increase in incidence for the next two or three years.
Six deaths were registered from the disease in the Borough
during 1912, giving a death-rate per 1,000 of the population of 03.
In the following table is shown the number of cases and the case mortality per cent. in the Borough and sub-districts during 1912:-
| Sub Registration Districts. | East Battersea. | Nth.-West Battersea. | Sth.-West Battersea. | Borough. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Cases | 198 | 127 | 102 | 427 |
| Case-rate per 1,000 population | 2.84 | 1.58 | 2.09 | 2.48 |
| No. of Deaths | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Death-rate per 1,000 population | .04 | .02 | .04 | .03 |
| Case-mortality per cent. | 1.51 | 8 | 1.96 | 1.40 |
Of the 427 cases of scarlet fever notified during the year 263
(i.e., 61 per cent.) were of children of school age.
In 56 of the houses invaded multiple cases occurred as follows:-
| No. of times. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 cases in one house | 2 | ||
| 4 ,, ,, ,, | 3 | ||
| 3 ,, ,, ,, | 4 | ||
| 2 ,, ,, ,, | 47 | ||