London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Paddington 1909
Report on the vital statistics and sanitary work for the year 1909
This page requires JavaScript
29
TUBERCULOUS DISEASES.
TABLE 22. Cases and Deaths: Sex-age Distribution. 1909.
| Ages (years). | All ages. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0- | 1- | 5- | 10- | 15- | 25- | 35- | 45- | 55- | 65- | 75- | Males. | Females | Persons | ||||||||||||||
| m | f | M | f | m | f | m | f | m | f | m | f | m | f | m | f | m | f | m | f | m | f | ||||||
| "Definite." | Dispensary | - | - | 1 | - | 21 | 6 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 11 | 35 | 12 | 31 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | 87 | 119 | 206 | |
| Poor Law | - | - | 2 | 2 | - | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 6 | — | - | - | 68 | 50 | 118 | ||
| Other Medical | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 3 | - | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | — | — | - | - | 9 | 10 | 19 | ||
| Totals | - | - | 3 | 2 | 21 | 10 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 22 | 29 | 49 | 37 | 49 | 18 | 23 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | — | — | 164 | 179 | 343 | ||
| Deaths | — | — | — | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 2 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | — | 3 | 1 | - | - | 42 | 17 | 59 | ||
| Phthisis | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | - | 3 | - | - | - | 37 | 13 | 50 | ||
| Other causes | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | - | — | 1 | - | - | 5 | 4 | 9 | ||
| "Suspect." | Dispensary | - | 2 | 24 | 18 | 31 | 46 | 21 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 105 | 136 | 241 | |
| Lay Reports | - | - | 2 | - | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | 2 | - | - | 19 | 25 | 441 | ||
| Totals | — | 2 | 26 | 18 | 35 | 51 | 23 | 21 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 24 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | — | - | 124 | 161 | 285 | ||
| Deaths | — | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | — | — | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | - | — | — | 1 | — | — | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Phthisis | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 | |
| Other causes | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | — | - | — | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | — | 1 | - | — | - | - | 3 | 3 | |
* Ages not stated: male, 1; females, 4.
This part of the report should not be left without referring to the work of searching for
contacts, which, as has already been stated, is one of the most important objects of the
Dispensary. The Medical Officer of the Dispensary reports that, after examining 472
patients resident in the Borough and finding 184 "definite" and 154 "suspect" cases
of consumption, and 8 cases of tuberculosis of other forms than the pulmonary, he examined
228 "contacts," of whom 50 were found to be suffering with the disease, 98 suspected to be
so suffering, and 3 had other forms of tuberculosis. In other words, while 71.6* per cent. of the
patients who went to the Dispensary because they believed themselves to be consumptive
were found to have the disease, no less than 64.9 per cent. of those who fell in with the
request to allow themselves to be examined were found to be affected. Doubtless a
very large proportion of the latter were quite unconscious of the presence of the disease
in their system, and many were innocently helping to spread the infection.
* These percentages are obtained by taking the "definite" and "suspect" cases together. The percentages
of "definite" cases are—among original patients 38.9, and among contacts 21.9.