London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

Islington 1866

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington, Parish of St Mary]

This page requires JavaScript

9
to this that it returned at the second wave of epidemic influence which passed over
us. Out of the 53 cases iu this focus, 28 took place within a very limited area, which
may be described as bounded by the Essex Road, Packington Street, and a line
drawn from the junction of Packington Street and Frog Lane to the Peabody
Buildings. And of these 28 cases on a very few acres of land, 21 proved fatal; that
is, no less than 75 per cent. The intensity of the operation of the cause of the
disease, then, was greater here than in any other part of the parish—here where the
greatest concentration of cases took place.
Out of the whole 53 cases in this southern focus, only 17 recovered, 36 being
fatal, or about 68 per cent.
2nd focus.—This includes the Queen's Road and the streets about it, Palmer
sanitary district, and the part of the Lower Holloway district, which lies lowest in
level. In these three districts there occurred 24 cases, of which 11, or nearly half,
were fatal. The diffusion of the epidemic influence in this part of the parish was
not accompanied by so great an intensity of operation as it was at the 1st or principal
focus.
3rd focus.—This was situated in the Back Road, Kingsland, and the streets
between it and St. Jude's church. Only 7 cases occurred here, but 5 of them, or 71
per cent. were fatal. The attack of this neighbourhood was due to an extension
of the epidemic influence concentrated at the time in the neighbouring part of
Hackney parish.
Now, there is this in common in these three foci—they are all localities occupied
by the lower class of our population, and situated at comparatively low levels. All
to the south of the Essex Road is under 100 feet of elevation. The second focus is
situated at 100 of feet elevation, or a trifle above it; and the third focus at and
below 80 feet of elevation.
Let us, then, further inquire now as respects the parish at large, what is
observable as respects the oases of cholera and their fatality, in their relation to the
elevation at which they occurred, the character of the houses in which they occurred,
and the condition of life of the families in which they occurred.
As regards elevation, all I can say is this—that out of 108 cases, of which I have
precise information as to locality of attack, 73 resided in parts of the parish situated
at or below 100 feet of elevation; while of the remainder 24 resided at an elevation
of above 100 and below 120 feet, and 11 between 120 and 130 feet of elevation.
Above 130 feet no case at all occurred. Out of the 73 attacked at an elevation
under 100 feet, 43 or 58 per cent. died ; and out of the 35 residing above 100 feet of
elevation, 22 or 62 per cent. died. This does not tell us much; but, as I have no
data respecting the population residing at these several levels, it is nearly all I can
say upon the subject. Judging by the fatality, I should be disposed to consider that
other causes were more potent than this in determining the precise seats of outbreak
in this parish, as well as the intensity of operation of the causes of the disease.