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
Shoreditch 1896
Annual report on the health and sanitary condition of the Parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch for the year 1896
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12
The notifications of infectious disease in the parish received during the year
numbered 1473; for comparison the numbers of previous years are set forth in the
following table:—
TABLE VIII.
| Year | 1890. | 1891. | 1892 | 1893. | 1894. | 1895. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Notifications | 1158 | 862 | 1478 | 1987 | 1104 | 1157 |
In the subjoined table is given a list of the notifiable infectious diseases, together
with the numbers of cases notified during the four quarters of the year, and the
numbers and percentages of cases notified which were removed to the hospitals
of the Metropolitan Asylums Board.
TABLE IX.
| Disease. | First Quarter. | Second Quarter. | Third Quarter. | Fourth Quarter. | Total. | Deaths. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Pox | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 |
| Scarlet Fever or Scarlatina | 140 | 88 | 253 | 216 | 697 | 38 |
| Diphtheria & Membranous Croup | 91 | 44 | 101 | 120 | 356 | 75 |
| Typhus | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Cholera | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Enteric Fever (Typhoid) | 20 | 25 | 41 | 28 | 114 | 18 |
| Continued Fever | ... | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ... |
| Relapsing Fever | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | |
| Puerperal Fever | 2 | ... | 2 | ... | 4 | ... |
| Erysipelas | 67 | 61 | 71 | 96 | 295 | 3 |
| Totals | 321 | 220 | 471 | 461 | 1473 | 135 |
| Numbers and percentages of cases removed to hospitals | 155 | 106 | 249 | 252 | 762 | |
| 48.2% | 48.1% | 50.8% | 54.4% | 51.0% |
The number of notifications was equal to an annual rate of 12.1 per 1,000 of the
population; the rates in previous years were 9.4 in 1895, 9 0 in 1894, 16.2 in 1893,
and 12.0 in 1892. As compared with 1895, 1896 shews increased numbers of notifications
of scarlet fever, diphtheria, erysipelas, puerperal fever and typhoid fever, and
a marked diminution in the number of small pox notifications. The deaths from
notifiable infectious diseases numbered 135 as compared with 117 in 1895, and 123 in
1894. The deaths from scarlet fever and diphtheria shew an increase, whilst those
from erysipelas, small pox and typhoid fever are decreased. It is satisfactory to
record that no cases of typhus fever or cholera occurred. Of the total number of
cases of infectious disease notified, 1,173 were cases of scarlet fever, diphtheria,