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
Poplar 1895
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Poplar, Bromley, South District comprising the parishes of All Saints Poplar and Bromley Saint Leonard]
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The annual death rate per 1000 living being:—
| 1894. | 1895 | |
|---|---|---|
| Poplar | 19.4 | 24.7 |
| Bromley | 18.6 | 21.8 |
The excess of births over deaths was as follows :—
| Males. | Females. | Total gain. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar | 282 | 292 | 574 |
| Bromley | 546 | 515 | 1061 |
| 828 | 807 | 1635 |
The male deaths in the two parishes exceeded those of the female
by 176, and the male births exceeded those of the female by 197.
The death rates per 1000 living from the seven principal Zymotic diseases (see Tables pages 14 and 15) and Respiratory diseases were:—
| Poplar. | Bromley. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894. | 1895. | 1894. | 1895. | |
| Respiratory Diseases | 3.39 | 5.25 | 4.20 | 5.82 |
| Zymotic Diseases | 2.28 | 4.38 | 3.29 | 3.93 |
The cause of the increase in the various death rates, by a study of
Charts I., II., and IV., will, I trust, be easily explained. In Chart I. the
unprecedented cold at the beginning of the year is clearly shown, and
in Chart II., during the corresponding period, the general death rate
is seen to be steadily going up, whereas the zymotic death rate remains
steady, and if anything is lower than usual. The increase of the
death rate in the first quarter of the year was due to diseases of the
respiratory organs. In the third quarter of the year the death rate again
ran up, and it will be seen that the zymotic death rate went up also.
Referring to Charts I. and IV. the deaths from diarrhoea and enteritis
will be seen to have gone up tremendously. In London there were
nearly 1200 deaths in three weeks. I shall touch upon the probable
cause of diarrhoea under the heading of that disease. It is clear that