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
Kensington 1915
Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health 1915
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notification as the solution. The following Table shows the seasonal incidence of deaths from
the non-notifiable epidemic diseases and the age periods in which death occurred:-
Non-notifiable Epidemic Diseases in 1915.
| Report for four weeks ended | Number of Deaths. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measles. | Whooping Cough. | Influenza. | Diarrhœa & Enteritis. | |
| January 30 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 3 |
| February 27 | 12 | 4 | 13 | 3 |
| March 27 | 43 | 3 | 11 | 4 |
| April 24 | 34 | 5 | 11 | 5 |
| May 22 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| June 19 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| July 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| August 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| September 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 |
| October 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| November 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| December 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| January 1, 1916 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 110 | 21 | 62 | 99 |
| Age at Death. | Measles. | Whooping Cough. | Influenza. | Diarrhœa & Enteritis. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 25 | 9 | 3 | 50 |
| Under 5 years | 101 | 20 | 4 | 73 |
| 5 to 15 years | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 to 65 years | 3 | 0 | 29 | 11 |
| 65 years and upwards | 0 | 0 | 29 | 14 |
| Total | 110 | 21 | 62 | 99 |
Fatal diarrhoea is seen to be a disease of infancy, increasing in prevalence in the late summer
and early autumn. Deaths from measles and whooping cough occur in early childhood; influenza
is chiefly fatal in old age and late middle life, the number of deaths showing a marked remission
in the summer months.
MEASLES.
The deaths from Measles numbered 110, 101 of them being of children under 5 years of age.
All cases of Measles in children attending the elementary schools are notified by the
head teachers and visited by the lady sanitary inspectors. As the result of these notifications and
also of the certificates of death, 1,180 visits were paid to cases of the disease. A leaflet is left with
the mother of each family attacked calling attention to the serious nature of the disease, and
insisting on precautions being taken to prevent the spread of infection.
WHOOPING COUGH.
The deaths from Whooping Cough numbered 21, all but one of them being of children under
5 years of age. As a result of the system of notifying cases by the head teachers of the elementary
schools, 247 visits were made to cases of the disease by the lady sanitary inspectors. An advisory
leaflet was left with the mother of each family visited.
EPIDEMIC DIARRHŒA.
During the year diarrhœa and enteritis caused 99 deaths, as compared with 81 deaths from
the same group of diseases in 1914.