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 1906
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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6
SICKNESS.
The sex-age incidence of the different diseases during the past year is given in Table
The disproportionately large numbers of cases both of diphtheria and scarlet fever at schoolages
(5-13 years) suggest that school attendance had a no inconsiderable share in the spread
of these diseases.
In Table 6 the cases are distributed according to the Wards. There was a very great
excess of scarlet fever in both Queen's Park and Harrow Road Wards. The large increase
in the number of cases from Church Ward is to some extent more apparent than real, owing
to the fact that there was an unusually large proportion of mistakes in diagnosis. It will be
noted that in Lancaster Gate, West, Ward, the cases of this disease were little more than
half the number recorded in 1905. The cases of diphtheria were more numerous last year
in all Wards than in 1905.
TABLE 6.
Notifications from each Ward.
1906.
Numbers for 1905 shown
| Queen's Park. | Harrow Road. | Maida Vale. | West-bourne. | Church. | Lancaster Gate. | Hyde. Park. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West. | East. | ||||||||
| Smallpox | -(-) | 1 (-) | — (-) | — (1) | -(-) | -(-) | -(-) | ||
| Diphtheria | 16 (7) | 37(34) | 38(10) | 28(16) | 43(18) | 6(1) | 9(2) | ||
| MembranousCroup | -(-) | - (-) | -(-) | -(-) | -(-) | ||||
| Erysipelas | 13 (18) | 34(34) | 19 (70) | 15(23) | 42 (28) | 3(2) | 7(11) | ||
| Fevers A ' | Scarlet | 140 (24) | 161 (77) | 87 (33) | 82 (38) | 177 (51) | 15 (26) | 18 (10) | 35 (18) |
| Enteric | 3(4) | 10 (8) | 4(17) | 10 (5) | 1 (3) | ||||
| Puerperal | 3(1) | *5(1) | 2(-) | 1(1) | 1 (3) | -(-) | -(-) | 1 (1) | |
| Totals | 175(54) | 248 (156) | 150 (79) | 128 (86) | 273 (105) | 25 (33) | 31 (16) | 53 (35) | |
| Rates,† 1906 | 10.54 | 8.46 | 7.57 | 5.09 | 9.90 | 2.96 | 3.91 | 3.81 | |
| „ 1905 | 3.24 | 5.38 | 4.03 | 3.46 | 3.84 | 3.91 | 2.02 | 2.52 | |
| Mean Rates 1901-5 | |||||||||
*Includes one case notified as "continued fever,'' but found at autopsy to be "puerperal fever."
†Per 1,000 persons of all ages.
Comparing the local rates with those of the areas set out in Table 7, it will be seen that
the scarlet fever rate was in excess of the mean in all the areas, and that the highest rate
was that of the Borough. As regards diphtheria, last year's rate was generally below the
mean, the exceptions being those of Westminster and Hampstead. The rate for enteric fever
was lowest in Kensington, the Borough rate being, however, not materially higher. The
local rate for puerperal fever is the highest of the whole series.