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 1896
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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The death-rates from the principal zymotic diseases in the several sanitary districts of London in 1896 and the period 1886-95 are shown in the following table—
| Sanitary district. | Deaths in 1896. | Death rate per 1,000 living. | Sanitary district. | Deaths in 1896. | Death rate per 1,0(10 living. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1886-95. | 1896. | 1886—95. | 1896. | ||||
| Paddington | 320 | 2.01 | 2.52 | Shoreditch | 536 | 3.65 | 4.31 |
| Kensington | 459 | 2.05 | 2.65 | Bethnal-green | 557 | 3.74 | 4.25 |
| Hammersmith | 298 | 3.11 | 2.80 | Whitechapel | 210 | 3.01 | 2.62 |
| Fulham | 419 | 3.59 | St. George-in-the-East | 158 | 4.55 | 3.26 | |
| Chelsea | 388 | 2.79 | 3.94 | Limehouse0 | 236 | 4.18 | 3.99 |
| St. George, Hanover-square | 112 | 1.65 | 1.39 | Mile-end Old-town | 409 | 3.41 | 3.61 |
| Poplar | 637 | 3.21 | 3.70 | ||||
| Westminster | 117 | 2.53 | 2.15 | St. Saviour, Southwark | 83 | 3.24 | 3.23 |
| St. James | 52 | 1.01 | 2.24 | St. George, Southwark | 260 | 3.69 | 4.24 |
| Marylebone | 453 | 2.16 | 3.16 | Newington | 410 | 3.17 | 3.35 |
| Hampstead | 141 | 1.31 | 1.83 | St. Olave | 57 | 2.93 | 4.81 |
| Pancras | 608 | 2.66 | 2.47 | Bermondsey | 328 | 3.17 | 3.78 |
| Islingtou | 1,043 | 2.52 | 3.04 | Rotherhithe | 157 | 3.10 | 3.82 |
| Stoke Newington | 80 | 2.47 | 2.35 | Lambeth | 729 | 2.64 | 2.42 |
| Hackney | 612 | 2.81 | Battersea | 614 | 2.47 | 3.64 | |
| St. Giles | 89 | 2.49 | 2.29 | Wandsworth | 520 | 2.71 | |
| St. Martin - in - the -Fields | 30 | 1.97 | 2.28 | Camberwell | 928 | 2.62 | 3.59 |
| Greenwich | 666 | 2.74 | 3.72 | ||||
| Strand | 59 | 2.45 | 2.44 | Lewisham | 237 | 1.60 | 2.22 |
| Holborn | 101 | 2.95 | 3.21 | Woolwich | 165 | 2.07 | 3.92 |
| Clerkenwell | 255 | 3.51 | 3.78 | Lee | 74 | 1.98 | 1.88 |
| St. Luke | 161 | 3.79 | 3.82 | Plumstead | 214 | 3.54 | |
| London, City of | 46 | 1.44 | 1.44 | London | 14,028 | 2.71 | 3.111 |
The Eastern group of districts had the highest zymotic mortality (3.77); the western and
northern groups the lowest (2.77 each). The district of St. Olave had the highest (4.81), and
St. George, Hanover-square, the lowest (1.39).
Smallpox and Vaccination.
The death rates from smallpox in successive periods have been as follows—
| Period. | Smallpox death rate per 1,000 living. | Period. | Smallpox death rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1851-60 | 0.28 | 1892 | 0.0071 |
| 1861-70 | 0.28 | 1893 | 0.0401 |
| 1871-80 | 0.46 | 1894 | 0.0201 |
| 1881-90 | 0.14 | 1895 | 0.0121 |
| 1891 | _1 | 1896 | 0.0021 |
The death rate in each year in relation to the mean death rate of the period 1841-96 is shown
in diagram IV.
During the complete years in which the notification of infectious diseases has been obligatory the number of cases of smallpox notified to the medical officers of health in the administrative county has been as follows—
| Year. | Cases notified. | Case rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 60 | 0.014 |
| 1891 | 114 | 0.027 |
| 1892 | 425 | 0.100 |
| 1893 | 2,815 | 0.653 |
| 1894 | 1,193 | 0.274 |
| 1895 | 980 | 0.223 |
| 1896 | 225 | 0.050 |
If the London smallpox death rate be compared with the death rates of the following large
English towns, it will be seen that in the period 1886-95, the London death rate was exceeded by the
death rates of all except Leeds, Nottingham and Salford, while in 1896 the London rate was only
exceeded by the rates of West Ham and Bristol.
1 See footnote (1) page 7.