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 1906
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
This page requires JavaScript
47
there is any particular incidence on any one group except among
labourers, costermongers, &c. The proportion ot cases in the other
groups bears a very close relationship to the number of persons in the
group.
| Occupations. | No. of Persons so engaged at the Census, 1901. | Percentage of Population so engaged. | Cases of Erysipelas. | Percentage of cases of Erysipelas in each Group. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional | 6,305 | 3.9 | 15 | 2.6 |
| Commercial | 4,605 | 2.9 | 7 | 1.2 |
| Domestic Servants | 41,230 | 26.0 | 104 | 18.2 |
| Conveyance | 8,275 | 5.2 | 27 | 4.7 |
| Building | 3,651 | 2.3 | 8 | 1.4 |
| Dress | 10,757 | 6.8 | 38 | 6.6 |
| Food, Lodging, &c. | 10,430 | 6.6 | 22 | 3.8 |
| Shopkeepers, &c. | 2,752 | 1.7 | 11 | 1.9 |
| Labourers, Costermongers, &c. | 2,234 | 1.4 | 17 | 2.9 |
| Local Government (Police, &c., &c.) | 1,602 | 1.0 | 7 | 1.2 |
The proportion of females to males attacked is as 7 to 5, whereas
the proportion in the total population is about 9 to 8. Females have
therefore been attacked in greater proportion than males.
Out of 347 cases in which the parts attacked were noted, the face
was the site of the complaint in 277, the leg in 53, and the arm in 13.
The attacks were most fatal where young children or old persons
were concerned. 4.4 per cent. of the cases were fatal, but in Knightsbridge
St. George's "Ward, the mortality was as much as 17.6 per cent.
due to some extent to the fact that some deaths were due to cellulitis,
resulting in some instances from injury.
Seasonal Incidence.—The subjoined Table shows the months in which
cases occurred. In the five yearly total the distribution of cases seems
fairly uniform, except as regards October, which has a large number.
The months when the greatest number of notifications occurred were
September, 1905, and October, 1906. The maxima did not occur
during the period of greatest temperature, but rather at the time when
it is on the decline, and when there is an addition of moisture. The
maxima of erysipelas seem to coincide with the maxima of scarlet fever.
Careful comparison of the numbers notified with meteorological curves
would probably show that atmospheric conditions have some influence
in determining attacks, since the cases tend to occur in groups about
the same dates, followed by intervals of a week or so.
d 2