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

View report page

Paddington 1908

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]

This page requires JavaScript

87
infantile diarrhœa.

being under 2 years of age. Of the patients, 4 (1 male and 3 females) were under 1 month old, the age distribution of the 248 (in trimestral groups) being:—

Months.Years.Totals.
0—3-6—9—0—1—2
Males152012216858126
Females102013287151122

The ratio of births of boys to those of girls being approximately 100 : 96, and the ratio
of attacks being 100 : 97.
There were 17 deaths among the 248 children up to the end of October, 9 being ascribed
to "diarrhœa"*—under one or other of its synonyms—and 8 to other causes. If only the
former deaths (9) be taken into account, the fatality of the disease was 3.6 per cent.—a very
low figure. As, however, it seems probable that the 8 other deaths were really due to the
attack of diarrhoea, the debility resulting therefrom when super-added to the other malady
leading to a fatal issue, it is fairer to calculate the fatality on the total of 17 deaths, which
works out at 6.8 per cent. When these figures were first collated there were no data
available for purposes of comparison. Quite recently a report has been issued by
the Medical Officer of Health of Woolwich giving the results of a four years' experience of a
voluntary system of notification of diarrhoea. From the figures given in that report the
fatality (per 100 attacks) among cases at ages under 2 years has been calculated at 15.8
(mean for four years 1905-08), with a maximum of 19.3 (1905) and a minimum of 13.9 (1907).
The Woolwich rate appears to be based on deaths from diarrhœa only. It is difficult, if not
impossible, to institute a satisfactory comparison between the fatalities observed in Woolwich
and Paddington, inasmuch as much larger proportions of the fatal attacks were known during
life in Woolwich than in Paddington.

† This is a clear from the appended figures, which contrast the returns at ages under oneyear for 1908 in the two Boroughs.

Ages (months)0—3—6—9—
c.d.d.c.d.d.c.d.d.c.d.d.
Woolwich1146287925592747
Paddington25514402162564913
c.—Cases reported.d.—Deaths among same.D.—Total deaths recorded.

The fatalities of the local cases (including deaths from "other causes") were 7.1 per cent.
among males and 6.5 per cent. among females. At ages under one month, all the cases (4)
terminated fatally, the fatality decreasing somewhat rapidly with increasing age. Thus at 0-3
months the fatality was 40 per cent.; 3-6 months, 5 per cent; 6-9 months, zero (evidently due
to the small number of observations); and at 9-12 months, 4 per cent. At all ages under one
year the fatality was 10.0 per cent., and at ages between 1 and 2 years, 2.7 per cent. The
foregoing fatalities are not given as absolutely reliable results, but as indicators of the
improved chances of recovery enjoyed by the elder children.
Methods of Feeding.—In eleven (11) instances this was not recorded, but the omission of
any record in all, save 2 cases, may safely be taken to indicate that the infants were breastfed.
The children reported as being entirely breast-fed numbered 53 (62 if the 9 referred to
above be included), equal to 21.3 per cent. of all, of whom 20 were aged 10 months
and upwards. There were 3 deaths (2 at ages under one month and 1 aged 2-3 months),
*There were in addition 38 other deaths from "diarrhœa" during the same period, but the cases, first known
through the registration of the deaths, are not included in this report.
†In Woolwich 23 out of 38 deaths occurred among the notified cases; in Paddington 9 out of 47 only.