London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of Westminster 1903
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
This page requires JavaScript
Ages at Deaths.—Of the total deaths, 97 were those of children under 1 year of age, and 193 of persons over 65 years of age ; these are referable as follows :—
| Ages at Death. | Tot a l. | Conduit. | Grosvenor. | Hamlet of Knightsbridge | Knightsbridge St. George. | Victoria. | St. Margaret. | St. John. | St. Anne. | Great Marlborough. | Pall Mall. | Regent. | Charing Cross | Covent Garden | Strand. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||
| Under 1 vear of age | 97 | — | 2 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 6 | 30 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 4 | — | 3 | 1 |
| Over 65 years | 193 | 3 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 50 | 14 | 27 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
The Infant mortality was equal to 127 per 1,000 births in London and 135 in the City.
Inquests were held on the bodies of 58 citizens.
Compared with London as a whole, the death rates per 1,000 persons living for Phthisis, Diarrhoea, and other Communicable Diseases, were as follows :—
| LOCALITY. | All Causes. | Small-Pox. | .Measles. | Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Whooping Cough. | Fever. | Diarrhoea. | Phthisis. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County of London | 16.7 | 0.00 | 0. 57 | 0.08 | 0.20 | 0 . 65 | 0.07 | 0.22 | 1.65 |
| City of Westminster | 15.2 | - | 0.06 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.38 | 0.08 | 0.26 | 1 .83 |
Infectious Diseases Notified.—In London the number of notifications of infectious diseases in the First Quarter of the year, as Compared with those in the corresponding 14 weeks of last year, were as follows :—
| Small-pox. | Scarlet l ever. | Diphtheria. | Enteric Fever. | F rysipelas. | Puerperal Fever. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In London | 1903 | 3,8 | 3.183 | 2,244 | 435 | 1,107 | 63 |
| 1902 | 45,74 | 4-058 | 2,823 | 486 | 1,167 | 8l | |
| In Westminster | 1903 | 1 | 113 | 53 | 19 | 24 | 1 |
| 1002 | 176 | 96 | 60 | 17 | 12 | 1 | |
In the City 217 cases were notified in the First Quarter. They were distributed as follows :—
| Notifiable Diseases. | Total. | Conduit. | Grosvenor. | Hamlet of Knightsbridge. | Knightsbridge St. George | Victoria | St. Margaret. | St. John. | St. Anne. | Great Marlborough | Pall Mall. | Regent. | Charing Cross. | Covent Garden. | Strand. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||
| Small-pox | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scarlet Fever | 113 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
| Diphtheria | 53 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 4 | — | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Enteric Fever | 19 | — | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 3 |
| Erysipelas | 24 | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 3 | — | 1 |
| Puerperal Fever | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Continued Fever | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chicken-pox | 5 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Totals | 217 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 34 | 18 | 36 | 37 | 14 | 1 1 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 9 |
Exclusive of Chicken-pox, the number of cases notified were this year 212, as compared
with ^94 in the corresponding Quarter of 1902. The case notified as Small-pox turned out to
be Typhoid Fever. Two cases notified as Scarlet Fever and six as Diphtheria afterwards
were reported not to be so.