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
Paddington 1905
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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15
DIPHTHERIA.
Of the two cases reported in the Borough, one was erroneously diagnosed—the patient
was returned forthwith from the hospital—and the other was an adult female very recently
landed from South America. There had been a fatal case of smallpox on the steamship.
This case was treated at home.
The disease was much less prevalent throughout the country during the past year, and,
moreover, the numbers of cases reported* in each quarter were progressively less. The
appended statement shows the numbers reported to the Local Government Board in each
quarter of the last two years :—
Quarters 1 2 3 4 Year.
Year 1905. 190-1. 1905. 1904. 1905. 1904. 1905. 1904. 1905. 1904.
Metropolis ... 34 181 36 251 6 42 1-23 77 497
Provinces ... 1,093 1,345 602 1,519 310 1,098 271 1,283 2,276 5,245
Appended are the usual Vaccination statistics kindly supplied by Mr. House, the Vaccination Officer:— Vaccination Returns.
| Births. | Successfully Vaccinated. | Insusceptible of Vaccination. | Died Unvaccinated. | Per cent. of Births. Cols. 2, 3, & 4. | Vaccination Postponed. | Certificates under Act granted for. | Remaining (not traced, &c.)* | Per cent, of Births. Cols. 0, 7, & 8. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cols. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 1901 | 3,364 | 2,676 | 5 | 313 | 89.0 | 23 | 34 | 313 | 11.0 |
| 1902 | 3,262 | 2,629 | 12 | 291 | 89.8 | 35 | 19 | 276 | 10.1 |
| 1903 | 3,315 | 2,621 | 10 | 296 | 88.2 | 48 | 32 | 308 | 11.7 |
| 1904 | 3,311 | 2,578 | 8 | 307 | 87.4 | 52 | 22 | 344 | 12.6 |
| 1905† Jan -June ) | 1,640 | 1,232 | 5 | 139 | 83.9 | 81 | 24 | 159 | 16.1 |
* Including "gone away," "false addresses," apprisals to other districts, &c.† Provisional return only.
DIPHTHERIA. (Including Membranous Croup.)
| Borough. | London. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905. | 1904 | 1903. | 1905. | 1904. | 1903. | |
| Cases notified | 96 | 140 | 145 | 6,489 | 7,227 | 7,749 |
| Deaths | 3 | 19 | 15 | 546 | 723 | 740 |
| Morbidity * | 0.64 | 0.95 | 0.98 | 1.39 | 1.55 | 1.67 |
| Fatality | 3.1 | 13.7 | 10.3 | 8.4 | 10.0 | 9.9 |
| Mortality | 0.02 | 0.13 | 0.10 | 0.11 | 0.15 | 0.16 |
* See notes to statement under " Smallpox."
The decline in the number of notifications of this disease in the Borough, recorded in
each of the last three Reports, continued during 1905, 90 cases being reported as compared
with 343 in 1901, 211 in 1902, 145 in 1903, and 140 in 1904. Last year's cases represent a
decrease of 59 per cent. of the total for 1901. Comparing the totals for 1905 and 1904, the
former show diminutions equal to 31.5 per cent. and 10.5 per cent. in the Borough and
Metropolis respectively. Last year's morbiditv rate (0.64) was less than half that of the
Metropolis (1.39), and was (even with the slightly higher figure obtained from the Registrar-
* The figures are from the weekly returns of cases reported from 255 Boroughs and Urban Districts having a
total population at the last census of 14,801,491 persons—excluding the Metropolis.