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
City of Westminster 1904
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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45
Whooping Cough.—This complaint was responsible for 17 deaths
(33 in 1903), and, as with measles, these were in children under
five years of age. It was most prevalent in the latter part of the year,
and 56 cases were notified from schools (see p. 47). The fatal cases
were distributed in the Wards thus:—Knightsbridge, 1; Victoria, 6;
St. John's, 6; Gt. Marlborough, 1; and Covent Garden, 3.
The deaths calculated on the total population are :—
| 1901. | 1902. | 1903. | 1904. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Calculated on the number of children under five years of age, the rates per 1,000 were:—
| 1901. | 1902. | 1903. | 1904. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Diarrheal Diseases.—Deaths from diarrhoea in its various forms
was considerably above the average in London generally. In the City
the deaths (96 in number) were considerably above the average of the
previous two years, but not much above the usual; 62 were registered
as diarrhœa, 48 as epidemic enteritis, and 41 as enteritis or ulcerative
colitis. In the following table the deaths and rates for the last four years are given.
As the bulk of the deaths are those of infants, it affords a better comparison to compare the number of deaths of infants with the number of births, and the figures will be found in the last three lines of the table:—
| 1901. | 1902. | 1903. | 1904. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
There were 13 deaths in the first quarter of the year, 6 in the
second quarter, 61 in the third quarter, and 16 in the fourth quarter.
The third quarter, and the beginning of the fourth, is responsible for