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
Islington 1858
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington, Parish of St Mary]
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The outbreak of scarlet fever has not been general in the Parish; it h is
selected the districts of St. Peter's and Thornhill, especially Siroud's-vale
and its vicinity, towards which zymotic disease invariably gravitates. This
will partly appear from Table II. Of ilie 14 deaths from scarlatina in the
East sub-district, 12 occurred in St. Peter's, and of the 7 registered in the
West sub-district, 3 occurred in Stroud's-vale and Belle-Isle
Towards the close of the month, my attention was callcd to an outbreak
of fever, about the Balls-pond Road, which I immediately investigated, and I
saw, I believe, nearly every case that had not proved fatal at the time of my
visit. The outbreak was very limited in extent, and had its principal origin
in a Public House, to which were attached a very offensive stable«nd urinal.
The particulars, with my opinion upon the cause of the fever, have been communicated
to the Sanitary Committee. All the eases that 1 saw were of the
" Typhoid " or " Abdominal " type.
I have included the weekly progress of scarlct fever in the following table, which is otherwise a continuation of that presented last month.
| Mean Temperature (Greenwich.) | Parish cases of Diarrhoea & Cholera. | Deaths from Diarrhoea and Cholera | Parish Cases oi Fever. | Scarlet Fever. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths | Parish Cases. | |||||||||||||
| 1856. | 1857. | 1858. | 1856. | 1857. | 1858. | 1856. | 1857. | 1858. | 1856. | 1857. | 1858. | 1858. | 1858. | |
| 1st Wk. of Mon. | 61.0° | 60'4° | 59.4° | 62 | 62 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2nd | 57.5° | 60.5° | 59.4° | 1 | ||||||||||
| ,3rd | 58.7° | 62. 1° | 63*4° | 39 | 16 | 22 | 6 | 6 | ||||||
| 4th | 53.7* | 59.1° | 58.6° | 48 | 25 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ! | 3 | ||
| 5th | 52-9° | 58.4° | 57.6° | 27 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 11 | |
| Total | mean 56.7° | mean 60.1° | mean 59. 6° | 22 7 | 164 | 108 | 28 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 50 |
EDWARD BALLAUD, M.D.,
Medical OJJiccr of Health.
24, Myddelton Square,
October 6th, 1858.