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 1913
Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea for the year 1913
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The following table gives the drainage defects, &c., in houses in which cases of infectious disease were notified during 1913:—
| DISEASE. | No. of houses invaded. | Number showing defects as to— | Percentage showing drainage defects. | Percentage showing no drainage defects | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drains. | Traps, fittings and appliances. | Total. | ||||
| Diphtheria | 223 | 17 | 14 | 81 | 18 | 87 |
| Erysipelas | 122 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 96 |
| Scarlet Fever | 694 | 11 | 38 | 49 | 7 | 98 |
| Typhoid | 18 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 28 | 77 |
| Puerperal Fever | 9 | 1 | ... | 1 | 11 | 89 |
| Total | 1061 | 33 | 57 | 90 | 8 | 92 |
Notifiable Infectious Diseases.
During 1913, under the Notification Clauses of the Public
Health (London) Act, 1891, 1,331 cases of infectious diseases have
been notified, as compared with 826 in 1912. Of the 1,331 cases
notified, 1,152 (i.e., 86 per cent.) were removed to hospitals of
the Metropolitan Asylums Board or to other hospitals, and 179
(i.e., 14 per cent.) remained under treatment at home. The
percentage of cases removed to hospital in 1913 exceeded that of
1912, and it is satisfactory to be able to record that the high
percentage of hospital isolated cases has been more than maintained.
Examining the removals to hospital more in detail (i.e., nature of disease), it is seen that during 1913 in the Borough of Battersea the following are the percentages:—
| Scarlet fever | 96 |
| Diphtheria and membranous croup | 93 |
| Enteric fever | 100 |
| Erysipelas | 23 |
| Puerperal fever | 77 |
The number of cases notified in the three sub-districts of the
Borough and the proportion per 1,000 of the population are as
follows:—