London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
St Pancras 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
36
SMALLPOX.
No cases of this disease were notified in the Borough during the year. There were
11 cases in the County of London during 1923, and 1 death.
Towards the end of the year chicken-pox was very prevalent in the Borough, and many
of the cases were of a severe type. This frequently caused some difficulty in diagnosis, as these
cases resembled small-pox. Many were seen in consultation with the medical practitioner who
was in attendance.
A number of persons were reported, who had come to the Borough after having been in
contact with cases of small-pox, usually on board ship. These were visited and kept under
observation during the requisite period.
VACCINATION.
The following table is drawn up from returns kindly supplied by the Clerk to the
Guardians, in respect of children whose births were registered in the Parish of St. Pancras from
January 1st to December 31st, 1922:—
Vaccination's.
1
| Number. | Percentage of Births registered. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North. | East. | West. | South. | Whole Borough | North. | East. | West. | South. | Whole Borough | ||
| Births registered | 995 | 1363 | 971 | 1552 | 4881 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | |
| Dead, unvaccinated | 35 | 75 | 56 | 74 | 240 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 | |
| Successfully vaccinated | 412 | 606 | 484 | 758 | 2260 | 41.4 | 44.5 | 49.9 | 48.8 | 46.3 | |
| Had smallpox | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Insusceptible of vaccination | – | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | – | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | |
| Received certificate of conscientious objection | 507 | 489 | 344 | 421 | 1761 | 51.0 | 35.9 | 35.4 | 27.1 | 36.1 | |
| Postponed by medical certificate | 4 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 45 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | |
| Moved to known address in other districts | 10 | 59 | 9 | 217 | 295 | 1.0 | 4.3 | 0.9 | 14.0 | 6.1 | |
| Lost sight of by removal | 25 | 114 | 59 | 61 | 259 | 2.5 | 8.4 | 6.1 | 3.9 | 5.3 | |
| Unvaccinated and not accounted for in previous columns | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | |
The corresponding figures for the past ten years are as follows:—
| Year. | Births. | Successfully Vaccinated. | Per cent. | Conscientious Objections, and Children otherwise escaping Vaccination. | Per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | 5079 | 2318 | 45.6 | 1149 | 22.6 |
| 1913 | 5074 | 2050 | 40.4 | 1494 | 29.4 |
| 1914 | 4965 | 1767 | 35.6 | 1332 | 26.8 |
| 1915 | 4536 | 1587 | 35.0 | 1205 | 26.6 |
| 1916 | 4322 | 1594 | 36.9 | 1179 | 27.3 |
| 1917 | 3664 | 1581 | 43.1 | 1014 | 27.7 |
| 1918 | 3338 | 1281 | 38.4 | 932 | 27.9 |
| 1919 | 3874 | 1733 | 44.7 | 1155 | 29.8 |
| 1920 | 6086 | 2693 | 44.3 | 2118 | 34.8 |
| 1921 | 5102 | 2085 | 40.9 | 1934 | 37.9 |
| 1922 | 4881 | 2260 | 46.3 | 1775 | 36.4 |