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
Stoke Newington 1908
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stoke Newington, The Metropolitan Borough]
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37
DIPHTHERIA
The 60 cases of Diphtheria occurred in 58 houses, 22 of which were more or less insanitary. The sanitary defects were grave in 7 and slight in 15 other instances.
| Year. | Death.Rate for Stoke Newington. | Rate for London generally. | Rate for England and Wales. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 0.27 | 0.30 | 0.27 |
| 1902 | 0.09 | 0.25 | 0.23 |
| 1903 | 0.13 | 0.16 | 0.18 |
| 1901 | 0.19 | 0.16 | 0.17 |
| 1905 | 0. 09 | 0.12 | 0.16 |
| 1906 | 0.08 | 0.14 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 0.11 | 0.16 | 0.16 |
| 190? | 0.02 | 0.15 |
School attendance is either alleged by the parents or surmised
by myself, on good grounds, to be the cause of at least 13 attacks
during the year.
One case of infection was imported into the Borough, and at
least 10 appear to have caught the infection from previous cases in
the same household. In 7 cases it was very clear that a preceding
tonsilitis predisposed to an attack of Diphtheria. In 11 cases there
was a history of previous throat trouble, frequently recurring.
Circumstances pointed to one child having been infected by
another child who had been very recently discharged from hospital.
Many applications have been made at the office for tubes of
antitoxin, which I store for the convenience of local practitioners.
In this disease the spread of the infection (and by consequence
the mortality) are largely due to the unfortunate circumstance that
the early diagnosis of the disease from clinical symptoms is frequently
difficult or impossible, and bacteriology alone can solve the