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
St Pancras 1882
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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Scarlet Fever, or a little more than a third of the number in
1881, and slightly more than half the annual average of the
previous 10 years.
Altogether 277 cases were reported to the Sanitary
Department of which 92 were removed to hospital.
The proportion of deaths from Scarlet Fever to 1000 deaths
from 'all causes' was 13.9 in 1882, and 24.6 in the ten
preceding years, and the proportion of deaths to each 1000 of
population was in 1882 0.27. In London as a whole deaths
from Scarlet Fever were in the proportion of 23.9 per 1000 of
total deaths, and 0.51 per 1000 of population.
The following table shows the relative amount of Scarlet Fever in the different sub-registration districts calculated upon each 1000 deaths from 'all causes,' and each 1000 of population. One case occurring in a public institution, and 138 deaths from all causes in public institutions could not be referred, and are therefore omitted from consideration (
| Sub-registration Districts. | No. of Deaths. | Proportion per 1000 of Population. | Proportion per 1000 total Deaths. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regent's Park | 8 | 0.24 | 10.5 |
| Tottenham Court Road | 4 | 0.14 | 7.2 |
| Gray's Inn Lane | 11 | 0.36 | 17.3 |
| Somers Town | 8 | 0.23 | 10.0 |
| Camden Town | 8 | 0.51 | 24.6 |
| Kentish Town | 26 | 0.29 | 17.1 |
An out-break of Scarlet Fever of special interest occurred
in the beginning of the year. On January 28th, I received a
letter from the Medical Officer of Health to St. Giles, calling
my attention to an unusual prevalence of Scarlet Fever in
the area, lying between Tottenham Court Road and the
Gray's Inn Road. I immediately addressed a circular letter to
all the medical men in practice in that locality, asking for
information concerning the cases of this disease in their
practice, and made an inquiry at all the houses in that
district, with a view of obtaining further information on the
subject. An investigation which was being conducted by the
Medical Officer of Health to St. Giles, showed a special
incidence of the disease upon houses supplied with milk from
a particular dairy, situated in his district, and the same
incidence was noticeable upon houses in St. Pancras supplied
by the same milk vendor. Nearly all the parsons who