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 1900
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The subjoined table shows the number of deaths from the several diseases, in the sub-districts, occurring at-home, and at outlying public institutions, &c.:—
| Disease. | Sub-Districts. | In Hospital. | Total Deaths. | Decennial Average. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Town. | Brompton. | Town. | Brompton. | Uncorrected. | Corrected for increase of Population. | ||
| Small-pox | — | — | — | — | — | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Measles | 90 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 98 | 78.7 | 80.5 |
| Scarlet Fever | — | — | 2 | 2 | 4 | 27.9 | 28.5 |
| Diphtheria | 5 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 27 | 56.3 | 57.6 |
| Whooping-cough. | 30 | 8 | — | — | 33 | 63.4 | 64.9 |
| Typhus Fever | — | — | — | — | - | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Enteric Fever | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 17.8 | 18.2 |
| Simple-Continued Fever | — | - | — | — | — | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Diarrhoea | 92 | 7 | 6 | — | 105 | 91.7 | 93.9 |
| 220 | 16 | 42 | 5 | 283 | 337.8 | 345.6 | |
The mortality from measles, enteric fever and diarrhoea was slightly in excess, the deaths
from the other diseases having been below the average.
District Zymotic Rate.—The deaths in North Kensington were 230, and the rate 2'6 per
1,000 persons living. In South Kensington the deaths were 53, and the rate 0'6 per 1,000. The
rate in the several sanitary districts was as follows:—
North 110 deaths, or 3.3 per 1,000 persons living.
North-east 42 deaths, or 1.4 per 1,000 persons living.
North-west 65 deaths, or 3.8 per 1,000 persons living.
Central 38 deaths, or 1.4 per 1,000 persons living.
South-east. 9 deaths, or 0.3 per 1,000 persons living.
South-west 19 deaths, or 0.6 per 1,000 persons living.
The table at page 11 exhibits the distribution of the deaths in the borough as a whole, from
the several diseases as recorded in the thirteen four-weekly reports.
In England and Wales the deaths from the principal zymotic diseases were at the rate of
2 00 per 1,000 persons living, the decennial average being about 25 per 1,000. In the thirty-three
great towns, including London, the average rate was 2.5, ranging from 1.38 at Newcastle, 1.39 at
Birkenhead, and 1 44 at Croydon, to 3'98 at Salford, 4.33 at Sheffield and 4.37 at Preston.
In Appendix I., statistical information is given in Tables B, C, and D (pp. 85-86) showing
the number of deaths from the several diseases during the forty-five years (1856-1900) of the
existence of the late Vestry: in Table B, the annual number of deaths from each of the diseases
and the death-rate therefrom, in Table C, the numbers of deaths grouped in quinquennial periods;
in Table D, the rate per 1,000 of the population, in quinquennial periods, of the four notifiable
diseases (small-pox, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and "fever"), and the three non-notifiable diseases—
measles, whooping-cough, and diarrhoea.