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
Battersea 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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68
Deaths from Zymotic Diseases.
The principal zymotic diseases are small-pox, measles, scarlet
fever, diphtheria (including membranous croup), whooping-cough,
enteric fever and diarrhoea.
The deaths from these causes in 1933 numbered 58, as compared
with 75 in 1932, a decrease of 23 per cent. There was a
corresponding decrease in the zymotic death-rate from 0.478 in
1932 to 0.376 in 1933.
The mean death-rate from each of the principal zymotic diseases for the ten years 1913-1922, and for the ten years 1923-1932, are compared with the corresponding rates for 1932 and 1933 in the following table:—
| Zymotic Diseases | Number of Deaths from each of the principal Zymotic Diseases in 1932 and 1933, with corresponding Death Rates for those years and for the 10 years 1913-22 and 1923-1932. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Deaths. | Death-rate " per 1,000 population. | Mean Death-rate per 1,000 population. | Increase ( + ) or Decrease (-), 1933 over | |||||
| 1932. | 1933. | 1932. | 1933. | 1913-1922. | 1923-1932. | Previous year. | 1923-1932. | |
| Small Pox | - | - | - | - | - | .001 | - | - .001 |
| Measles | 23 | 1 | .147 | .006 | .364 | .137 | - .141 | - .131 |
| Scarlet Fever | 4 | 6 | .025 | .039 | .044 | .026 | + .014 | + .013 |
| Diphtheria | 9 | 12 | .057 | .078 | .187 | .108 | + .021 | - .030 |
| Whooping-cough | 11 | 12 | .070 | .078 | .194 | .097 | + .008 | - .019 |
| Enteric fever | — | 2 | — | .013 | .018 | •005 | + .013 | + .008 |
| Diarrhoea and enteritis | 28 | 25 | .179 | .162 | .467 | .156 | - .017 | + .006 |
| Total | 75 | 58 | .478 | .376 | 1.274 | .533 | - .102 | - .154 |
The death-rate from zymotic diseases was 0.207 in 1931, the
lowest yet recorded in Battersea, but rose in 1932 to 0.478, and
declined to 0.376 in 1933.
NON-NOTIFIABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Information as to the occurrence of non-notifiable forms of
infectious disease is obtained chiefly from the returns made by the
head teachers of elementary schools which show the absences of
scholars which are attributed to illness, and the nature of the
disease.