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
Chelsea 1954
Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health for the year 1954
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ZYMOTIC DISEASES
During the year three deaths were classified as having occurred
from "Gastritis, enteritis and diarrhœa", and the death rate for
such causes 0.06 per 1,000 of the population.
The term "Zymotic" was, in the past, applied to numerous diseases
which were considered to be "epidemic, endemic, and contagious".
However, in the light of existing conditions, it is applicable to such
diseases as cholera, diarrhœa, diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever,
smallpox, typhoid fever and typhus fever.
The consideration of actual figures is preferable to that of rates, and the following summary gives a clear picture of the great advances of preventive medicine in its fight against zymotic diseases.
| Year | Number of deaths |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 219 |
| 1905 | 98 |
| 1910 | 66 |
| 1915 | 76 |
| 1920 | 41 |
| 1925 | 29 |
| 1930 | 22 |
| 1935 | 17 |
| 1940 | 1 |
| 1945 | 6 |
| 1950 | 3 |