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
Wandsworth 1873
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth District, The Board of Works (Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting & Wandsworth)]
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Zymotic and other Diseases—their prevalence and
fatality.—In the entire District there occurred during the
year, us already observed, 2,580 deaths from all causes.
Of these the class of ordinary diseases (non-Zymotic), accidents,
&c., proved fatal in 2,169 instances, leaving 411
deaths attributable to Zymotic maladies. In the preceding
10 years the yearly average of deaths from these latter
diseases (Zymotic) has been found to be 484, so that the
present return gives 51 less than that average. In 1872
there succumbed 1,908 to the non-Zymotic class of
diseases, and 513 to the Zymotic, showing that more persons
by 261 died during the past year of ordinary diseases, and
fewer by the large number of 182, of Zymotic or epidemic
diseases, than in the previous year. It is satisfactory to
find that, notwithstanding the large amount of mortality
from ordinary diseases, the per centage of deaths from the
seven principal diseases of the Zymotic class to deaths from
all causes was in the past year as low as 13.6. The
per centages, it will be seen, by a reference to Table IV.
in the Appendix, have been very variable in the 10 years
1863-72, but it is found that with one exception, viz., in
1867, when the per centage was 12.4, it has never been so
low as noted in the present return. In 1872 it was 18.4,
or nearly 5 per cent higher than that recorded in the
present table.
But this is not all the satisfaction to be derived from
these statistics, referring as they do to a class of maladies
which it is the especial aim of the sanitarian to lessen and
control. Amongst the principal epidemic diseases which
have been so lessened and controlled in this District
during the past year, Small Pox may be referred to as one
of those which has been most visably checked by the
agency of effective hygeinic measures, and notably so
by the energetic and systematic employment of those
indispensable protections, vaccination and re-vaccination.
From 1863 to 1871 the fatal cases of Small Pox in
this District were very numerous, and it is found that