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 1908
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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57
Disinfection of 60 rooms in 34 houses, and of 522 articles, was
carried out by the Council's staff; 24 rooms in schools were also
disinfected after measles.
Visits were paid by the lady inspectors in all cases notified from
schools.
Whooping Cough—This complaint was responsible for 10 deaths,
all of them of children under five years of age. Sixty-two cases were
notified to me, all from schools (for particulars as to schools affected see
list below). Disinfection was carried out in 5 rooms.
The death-rates per 1,000 persons in each of the four quarters were:—
| 1st Quarter. | 2nd Quarter. | 3rd Quarter. | 4th Quarter. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.04 | |
| London | 0.33 | 0.28 | 0.13 | 0.07 |
Particulars relative to this disease for the years 1902-8 are:—
| 1902. | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | 1906. | 1907. | 1908. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster— Cases notified | 145 | 83 | 56 | 210 | 92 | 251 | 62 |
| Deaths | 34 | 33 | 17 | 35 | 23 | 27 | |
| Deaths per 1,000 | |||||||
| population | O.l8 | 0.09 | 0.19 | 0.13 | 0 15 | 0 05 | |
| London | 0 40 | 0 35 | 0 33 | 0 32 | 0.26 | 0.38 | 0.20 |
The five-yearly average death-rate being 033 for London, 0.15 for
Westminster.
Calculated on the number of children under five years of age, the death-rates per 1,000 were :—
| Westminster . | 2.65 | 2.63 | 1.37 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 2 .2 | 0. 8 |
| London | 3.65 | 3.22 | 2.9 | 2 .9 | 2.3 | 3 .4 | 1.8 |
Leaflets giving instructions with reference to the care necessary to
be taken in cases of measles and whooping cough are freely distributed
to parents. Attention is also called to the danger of exposing
children to infection, but apparently without much result. The
practice of taking children suffering from whooping cough to the
out-patient departments of hospitals is not one that should be encouraged.