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

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Paddington 1914

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

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18
enteric fever.
The house distribution of multiple cases, after excluding errors of diagnosis, is shown below,
together with the number of cases per family.

Scarlet Fever. ( Cases.— Corrected.)

1914.1913.1912.1911.1910.
Houses with 2 cases each6242291421
,, 3 ,,3116827
,, 4 ,,4412
,, 5 „311
,, 6 „11
,, 10 „1
Families with 2 cases each6646271421
,, 3 „2612826
,, 4 ,,4611
,, 5 ,,211
„ 8 „1

Of the 738 persons notified to have scarlet fever during the year, 695 (including 33 of the
37 cases of erroneous diagnosis) were removed to hospital, equivalent to 94.2 per cent, of the
total notifications, as compared with 95.9 per cent, in 1913, and an average of 95.3 per cent, for
the five years 1909-13. From September 29th to December loth considerable difficulty was
experienced in securing hospital accommodation, it being necessary in several instances to make
application to the Metropolitan Asylums Board on nine successive days before removal of the
patients could be effected.
The deaths among the notified cases numbered 8, 6 of which occurred in hospital. The
fatality during the year was IT per cent., as compared with 1.5 per cent, for 1913, and 1.9 per
cent, for the five years 1909-13. It would appear, therefore, that the disease last year was of a
comparatively mild type.
The mortality for the Borough was 0.05 per 1,000 persons, against 0.04 in 1913, and an
average of 0.05. It will be seen in Table 11 that lower rates were recorded in Hampstead and
Willesden (0.02 in each case), but that in the three other adjacent districts the rates were in
excess of that of the Borough.
ENTERIC FEVER *
Last year 10 cases of enteric fever and 2 cases of continued fever were reported, as compared
with 25 cases of enteric fever in 1913, and 15 in 1912. The morbidity rate was 0.08 per
1,000 persons, being 0'09 below that for 1913, and 0.12 below the average for the five years
1909-13 (Table 4). In only one of the circumjacent districts (Kensington) was a lower rate
recorded.
Two of the cases notified as enteric fever and one of those notified as continued fever were
subsequently found to have been wrongly diagnosed. The corrected total for the two diseases
is therefore 9, giving a morbidity rate of 0.06 per 1,000 persons. The morbidity rates in the
different Wards are set out below. No cases were reported from Queen's Park and Lancaster
Gate (West) Wards.

Enteric Fever : Morbidity. Per 1,000 persons.

Queen's Park.Harrow Road.Maida Vale.Westbourne.Church.Lancaster Gate,Hyde Park.
West.East.
19140.030.090.170.120.120.08
19130.120.110.030.240.310.100.120.23
1909-130.120.170.220.130.320.170.200.26
* Otherwise Typhoid Fever. Cases reported as Continued Fever are included in the statistics of Enteric Fever.