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 1893
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, London, Borough of]
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"notifiable infectious diseases" was highest in Kentish Town and Tottenham
Court, and lowest in Camden Town; whereas the mortality from the "principal
zymotic diseases" was highest in Camden Town, and lowest in Tottenham
Court. The mortality figures of the latter group of diseases are about double
those of the former, due to the addition of the essentially infantile complaints,
measles, whooping cough, and diarrhoea. From phthisis the highest mortality
prevailed in Camden Town, and the lowest in Tottenham Court; and from
bronchitis, pneumonia, and pleurisy, the highest was in Somers Town and
Gray's Inn Lane, and the lowest in Regent's Park and Kentish Town.
III.—INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
NOTIFICATIONS.
The number of cases of the Notifiable Infectious Diseases certified to your Medical Officer of Health during the year 1893, and the Sub-Districts in which they occurred, are shown in the following table: —
| Population—1891 Census. | Regent's Park, pop. 36,592. | Tottenham Court, pop. 26,319. | Gray's Inn Lane, pop. 27,418. | Somers Town, pop. 32,841. | Camden Town, | pop. 15,461. | Kentish Town, pop. 95,775. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diseases. | |||||||
| Small-Pox | 10 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 6 | 42 | 112 |
| Cholera | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Diphtheria or Membranous Croup | 89 | 74 | 92 | 73 | 32 | 372 | 732 |
| Erysipelas | 70 | 56 | 99 | 90 | 130 | 233 | 678 |
| Scarlatina, or Scarlet Fever | 357 | 191 | 285 | 365 | 169 | 1098 | 2165 |
| Typhus Fever | .. | .. | . . | .. | .. | .. | |
| Typhoid, or Enteric Fever. | 24 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 8 | 68 | 163 |
| Relapsing Fever | .. | . . | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| Continued Fever | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Puerperal Fever | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 24 |
| Totals | 555 | 368 | 522 | 568 | 346 | 1825 | 1184 |
The total number of cases notified was 1862 in excess of the number notified
during the previous year. The number of Scarlet Fever cases rose from 1279
to 2465, of Diphtheria from 432 to 732, of Small-Pox from 31 to 112, and of
Enteric Fever from 119 to 163. Puerperal Fever, Continued Fever, and
Cholera remained about stationary, Erysipelas increased from 426 to 678 cases,
and Typhus and Relapsing Fever were altogether absent.
In order to show the seasonal variation in the prevalence of the notifiable
infectious diseases, the table appended has been compiled. It records the
number of cases of each disease notified from week to week throughout the
year. The total number is a few less than the number in the previous table
due to the fact that certain further duplicate notifications have since been
excluded.