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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wave of epidemicity began to spread over London, and the disease
continued to rise in incidence until 1908. The number of cases
rapidly declined in 1909 and 1910, until the number of cases
recorded in Battersea reached, in 1911, as already stated, the
lowest figure ever recorded in the statistics of the Borough.
In the following table are shown the number of cases and the case-mortality per cent, in the Borough and sub-districts during 1913:—
| Registration Sub-Districts. | East Battersea. | Nth.-West Battersea. | Sth.-West Battersea | Borough. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Cases | 391 | 347 | 159 | 897 |
| Case-rate per 1,000 population | 5.61 | 7.07 | 3.26 | 5.35 |
| No. of Deaths | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Death-rate per 1,000 population | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.05 |
| Case-mortality per cent. | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
The causes mainly responsible for the spread of infection
from scarlet fever in 1913 are twofold in character:—
1. Mildness of the type of infection;
2. The Public Elementary Schools.
With regard to the first mentioned, it is evident, from the
experience of recent years, that in regard to virulence the disease
has assumed a mild type. A large proportion of the Battersea
cases (about 25 per cent.) were so mild as to escape detection in
the initial stages, and were only discovered owing to the presence
of "peeling," or the occurrence of more typical cases drawing
attention to cases of suspicious signs or symptoms in some other
member or members of the same family or persons living in the
same house.
Eight deaths were registered from the disease in the Borough
during 1913, giving a death-rate per 1,000 of the population of 0.05.
Of the 897 cases of scarlet fever notified during the year, 593
(i.e., 66T per cent.) were children of school age.