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12 smallpox.
the Registrar-General's Reports. In Church Ward only was last year's corrected rate above
the standard rate, but in four of the Wards (viz.: Maida Vale', Church, Lancaster Gate,
West, and Hyde Park) last year's rate exceeded the quinquennial mean rates. Comparing
the figures for the whole districts (lower half of table) all last year's rates were below
the "standard rates" and the quinquennial means. It must be observed that these
corrected rates have to be received with some caution, as, owing to the long interval since
the last census, it is impossible to be certain that verv material changes in the sex-age compositions
of the populations have not taken place.
SMALLPOX.
1 lie last case of this disease in the Borough was reported in 1900 in the person of a
woman just arrived from Plymouth where the disease was at that time prevalent. Last year
21 cases were reported in the Metropolis, of which an unknown proportion were erroneously
so diagnosed. In the 255 extra-Metropolitan cities, towns and sanitarv districts from which
weekly returns are received by the Local Government Board, having a population at the
Census of 1901 of nearly 15 millions, 67 cases were reported during the vear. The subjoined
comparison of the returns for each of the four quarters of the years 1903-09 shows that there
was a tendency during the past vear to increased prevalence of the disease.
Smallpox.
Uncorrected Returns.
Metropolis. Extra-Metropolitan Districts.
Quarters—1. 2. 3. 4. Year. 1. 2. 3. 4. Year.
1909 6 — 1 14 21 37 12 2 16 67
1908 2 — 1 1 4 4 5 5 7 21
1907 2 3 1 3 9 69 32 16 2 119
1906 14 16 1 — 31 545 275 100 70 990
1905 34 36 6 1 77 1,093 602 310 271 2,276
1904 181 251 42 23 497 1,345 1,519 1,098 1,283 5,245
1903 38 162 121 96 417 2,118 3,210 1,424 691 7,443
There were two deaths from smallpox in the Metropolis during the year as compared
with 25, 10, 0, 0, and 0, in each of the five years 1904-08.
The Registrar-General states in his Annual Summary that 85 cases of smallpox were
notified during the year in 13 of the 70 Great Towns, 35 occurring in Bristol, 21 in London,
G in Hull, and 5 each in Liverpool and Bolton, and that there were 14 deaths from the disease.
Vaccination.—It may be surmised, and past experience tends to confirm such surmise,
that smallpox is about to enter on a period of increased activity. Additional interest attaches
therefore to the vaccination returns, an analysis of which for the years 1901-08 is given below
with the preliminary figures for the first half of 1909, the latest returns available.
Vaccination Returns : Paddington.
Births.
Successfully
Vaccinated.
Insusceptible
Vaccination.
Died
Unvaccinated.
Per cent.
of
Births.
Cols.
2, 3, & 4.
Vaccination
Postponed.
Certificates
under the
Act.
Remainder.*
Per cent.,
of
Births.
Cols.
6, 7, & 8.
Cols.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1901
3,364
2,676
5
313
89.0
23
34
313
11.0
1902
3,262
2,629
12
291
89.8
35
19
276
10.1
1903
3,315
2,621
10
296
88.2
48
32
308
11.7
1904
3,311
2,578
8
307
87.4
52
22
344
12.6
1905
3,188
2,495
11
261
86.8
61
40
320
13.2
1906
3,174
2,545
9
224
87.5
36
41
319
12.5
1907
3,093
2,349
7
255
86.4
28
97
356
15.6
1908
3,098
2,346
8
244
83.8
28
201
271
16.1
19091†
1,517
1,143
7
103
82.5
44
113
107
17.4
Jan -June
* Including " gone away," " apprisals to other districts," " false addresses," &c. † Provisional return only.