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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10
SMALL-POX.
SMALLPOX.
Only one case of this disease was reported in the Borough during the year, in the person
of an adult female recently arrived from Plymouth, where the disease was, at that date,
somewhat prevalent. The case ended favourably.
The Metropolis was almost free from the disease during the year, only 31 cases (an
unknown proportion of which were probably erroneously diagnosed) being reported, with not
a single death. In 1905 there were 74 cases and 10 deaths.
The cases included in the Weekly Returns issued by the Local Government Board (based
on returns received from 255 Extra-Metropolitan districts, having a population of nearly
15 millions at the census of 1901) numbered 990 last year, as compared with 2,276 and 5,245 in the two preceding years.
The quarterly totals are given below:—
| Metropolis. | Extra-Metropolitan Districts. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | |
| 1906 | 14 | 16 | 1 | - | 545 | 275 | 100 | 70 |
| 1905 | 34 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 1,093 | 602 | 310 | 271 |
| 1904 | 181 | 251 | 42 | 23 | 1,345 | 1,519 | 1,098 | 1,283 |
Appended are the usual Vaccination statistics kindly supplied by Mr. House, the
Vaccination Officer :—
Vaccination Returns.
| Cols. | 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. 6, 7, & 8. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 3,188 | 2,495 | 11 | 261 | 86.8 | 61 | 40 | 320 | 13.2 |
| 1906† | 1,611 | 1,259 | 4 | 99 | 84.6 | 60 | 20 | 169 | 15.4 |
| Jan-June |
* Including "gone away," "false addresses," apprisals to other districts, &c. †
Provisional return only.
DIPHTHERIA.
In 1903, 145 cases of diphtheria* were reported, the total falling to 140 in 1904 and to
96 in 1905. Last year the number rose to 182, but that total is 7 below the average for the
preceding five years (1901-05). The numbers recorded in the second and fourth quarters of
last year were below the average, but above in the first and third. In comparison with the
preceding year, the greatest increases occurred in Church and Maida Vale Wards (Table 6);
but when a comparison is made with the quinquennial averages, Maida Vale shows the
greatest increases (Table 12). Last year's returns from Queen's Park and Harrow Road
Wards were well below the respective averages.
* In calculating the averages, cases of membranous croup have been included. No case of that disease, if it
be a separate one, was reported during the past year.