London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Kensington 1907

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]

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23 .
The only noteworthy outbreak of diphtheria occurred in connection with the Gloucester GrovCounty
Council School, South Kensington—which in its three departments is certified for 975
scholars. Between the middle of October and the middle of January, 1908, twenty-two cases
were notified (four each in the boys' and girls' departments, and fourteen in the infants' department),
of which three proved fatal. All of the sufferers were removed to hospital, and the houses
disinfected. In only five instances was there more than one case to a house; and in houses where
more than one case occurred, it was owing to the nature of the illness in the primary attack not
having been recognised. When the first case in a family was reported promptly, there was no
spread of the disease. The medical staff of the Education Committee paid much attention to the
outbreak, and the staff of the Public Health Department likewise. In December the class rooms
of the infants' department, five in number, were disinfected; and in several suspicious cases bacteriological
examinations of throat secretions were made for the Council at the Lister Institute.
The trouble was due in no slight measure to the mildness of some of the attacks, leading to failure
to recognise the nature of the illness.

The following table gives particulars with respect to diphtheria in North and bouth Kensington respectively.

Set out in Report for Four weeks ended.Total Cases Recorded.Cases Recorded in North Kensington.*Cases Recorded in South Kensington.*Cases removed to Hospital from—Deaths (19 in Hospital).
North Kensington.South Kensington.North Kensington.South Kensington.
January 261385822
February 231147461...
March 23119292......
April 207433111
May 18141221023...
June 15148654...
July 131510594...1
August 10191541521l
September 7181621421...
October 518135952l
November 2211561332...
November 30462422242222
December 282712151115...3
2341508413470159

"North Kensington and South Kensington are the districts to the north and the south of the centre of Notting-hill
High-street, and Holland-park-avenue, respectively.

Diphtheria in Kensington, 1897-1907.

Year.Cases Notified.Case rate per 1,000 of population.Deaths.Death rate per 1,000 of population.Case Mortality per cent.
18973321.94820.4824.7
18982221.29260.1511.7
18992571.49420.2416.3
19003321.92270.168.1
19012501.41380.2115.2
19021841.04200.1110.9
19031580.90240.1315.2
19041861.04170.099.1
19051250.7090.057.2
19061640.91190.1111.6
19072341.30240.1310.3