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

Paddington 1914

Report on the vital statistics and the work of the Public Health Department for the years 1914-18 (inclusive)

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7
sickness.
Hospital Isolation.—Although the Metropolitan Asylums Board was called upon to
surrender six of its fever hospitals (4,250 beds) to the Services, the proportions of cases
removed to hospital for isolation and treatment were actually higher during 1914-18 than
during 1909-13, with the exception of enteric fever. (See Table IV., Appendix and Table 7
supra.) The following comparison of the percentages of cases removed to hospital from the
County as a whole and from the Borough, indicates that the Borough fared better in this
respect than did the County as a whole :—
County of London. Borough of Paddington.
1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918
Diphtheria 87.6 91.7 95.2 98.4 96.1 93.1 97.0 97.6 96.5 93.4
Scarlet Fever 91.0 92.6 93.8 95.7 94.3 94.1 97.4 97.8 94.4 96.6
Enteric Fever 55.1 64.7 64.2 57.8 62.2 75. 8 9.4 71.4 66.7 77.0
Multiple Cases.—It would occupy too much space and be of doubtful utility after so long
an interval to attempt an analysis of the instances (and the causes thereof) of occurrence of
two or more cases in a house or family. It must suffice, as an appendage to the figures
relating to the proportions of cases removed to hospital to submit the following summary of
"multiple cases" of diphtheria and scarlet fever:—

Table: Scarlet Fever. (Coses—Corrected.)

Scarlet Fever. (Coses—Corrected.)

1909191019111912191319141915191619171918
Houses with 2 Cases5921142942623326514
„ „ 3 „2272816319635
„ „ 4 „21—442———
„ „ 5 „111——31——
„ „ 6 „———11I———
„ „ 10 „————1—————
Families with 2 Cases5122142746663124514
„ „ 3 „1462812265634
„ „ 4 „411—64————
„ „ 5 „—11——211——
„ „ 8 „————1—————

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The following institutional outbreaks are not included in the above figures.
1915 30 cases at an Orphanage.
3 cases at a Training School.
2 cases at the Workhouse.
1916 7 cases at an Orphanage (referred to above).
Institutional cases were excluded from the figures for 1909-13.

Table: Diphtheria. (Cases—Uncorrected.)

Diphtheria. (Cases—Uncorrected.)

1909191019111912191319141915191619171918
Houses with 2 Cases102920151911131212
„ „ 3 „1—54227313
„ „ 4 „1—11—1——31
„ „ 5 „———11—————
„ „ 7 „————1—————

Table: Diphtheria. (Cases —Corrected.)

Diphtheria. (Cases —Corrected.)

191319141915191619171918
Houses with 2 Cases12171113810
„ „ 3 „126213
„ „ 4 „—1——21
„ „ 5 „1—————
„ „ 7 „1—————
Families with 2 Cases11151111712
„ „ 3 „32411—
„ „ 4 „——2—
„ „ 5 „1—————