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
London County Council 1895
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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32
Diphtheria.
The cases of diphtheria* notified in the Administrative County of London in 1895 numbered
11,231, compared with 11,204 in 1894. The number of deaths registered from this cause in 1895 was
2,292, compared with 2,642 in 1894. The figures quoted for 1895 give an annual death rate of 052
per 1,000 living, and a case mortality of 20'4 per cent.
The diphtheria rates in 1895 and preceding periods are shown in the following table—
| Period. | Death rate per 1,000 liviiig. | Case rate per 1,000 living. | Case mortality per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | |||
| — | |||
| — | |||
The death rate in each year since 1.858, in relation to the mean of the period 1859-95,
is shown in diagram X.
If the London death rate from diphtheria be compared with that of other large towns in
England having populations of more than 200,000, it will be seen that the London rate was in 1895
greatly in excess of all except West Ham, and in 1885-94 the London rate was higher than that of all
the towns.
| Ten years, 1885-94. | 1895. | Ten years, 1885-94. | 1895. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The following table enables comparison to be made between the death rate from diphtheria in
London and the rates in ten foreign cities in the years 1885-94 and 1895—
| Ten years, 1885-94. | 1895. | Ten years, 1885-94. | 1895. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In 1885-94 the London rate was exceeded by the rates of all these cities except Brussels and
Amsterdam, but in 1895 it exceeded the rates of all except St. Petersburg, Berlin and New York.
Diphth eria, 1895—Age and sex distribution.
In the following table is shown the age and sex distribution and the case mortality at each age
in the year 1895. As in 1894, the female population suffered more heavily from attack than the male,
but the male experienced a heavier death rate than the female. In each of the first three years of
life the male death rate was higher than the female. The male case mortality was at " all ages
greater than that of the female ; at all age-periods except 35— the case mortality of males, and at the
majority of age-periods the case mortality of females, is less than it was in 1894, the result being
* Unless otherwise stated, cases of "Diphtheria" include "Membranous Croup."
† The Infectious Diseases (Notification) Act only came into force in 1889.
1 See footnote (1), page 10. 2 See footnote (2), page 10.