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
London County Council 1898
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
Whooping-Cough. The deaths from whooping-cough in the Administrative County of London in 1898 numbered 2,100, compared with 1,848 in 1897. The death-rates from this disease in 1898 and preceding periods were as follows—
| Period. | Death rate per 1,000 living. | Period. | Death rats per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1851-60 | 0.88 | 1893 | 0.541 |
| 1861-70 | 0.88 | 1894 | 0.491 |
| 1871-80 | 0.81 | 1895 | 0.341 |
| 1881-90 | 0.69 | 1896 | 0.651 |
| 1891 | 0.681 | 1897 | 0.411 |
| 1892 | 0.581 | 1898 | 0.481 |
The death-rate in each year in relation to the mean death-rate of the period 1841-98 is
shown in diagram XIV.
It will be seen from the following table that the London death-rate from whooping-cough exceeded the death-rates of all the undermentioned towns, except Manchester, Liverpool, and Salford, in 1888-97, and in the year 1898 exceeded the rates of all, except Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Salford—
| Towns. | 1888-97. | 1898. | Towns. | 1888-97. | 1898. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.562 | 0.48 | Bristol | 0.45 | 0.36 | |
| Manchester | 0.61 | 0.32 | Nottingham | 0.43 | 0.25 | |
| Liverpool | 0.62 | 0.52 | Bradford | 0.43 | 0.29 | |
| Birmingham | 0.55 | 0.49 | Hull | 0.37 | 0.30 | |
| Leeds | 0.43 | 0.39 | Salford | 0.75 | 0.60 | |
| Sheffield | 0.51 | 0.62 | West Ham | 0.55 | 0.42 | |
The following table shows that the London whooping-cough death-rate exceeded that of all the undermentioned foreign cities in the period 1888-97, and in 1898 exceeded that of all, except Copenhagen—
| Towns. | 1888-97. | 1898. | Towns. | 1888-97. | 1898. | ||
| London | 0.56 | 0.48 | St. Petersburg | 0.22 | 0.26 | ||
| Paris | 0.15 | 0.16 | Berlin | 0.28 | 0.29 | ||
| Brussels | 0.18 | 0.16 | Vienna | 0.09 | 0.08 | ||
| Amsterdam | 0.36 | 0.35 | Rome | 0.08 | 0.06 | ||
| Copenhagen | 0.38 | 0.64 | New York | 0.25 | 0.21 | ||
| Stockholm | 0.25 | 0.29 | |||||
In the distribution of the disease during the year the rate of mortality was highest in the
eastern group of districts, and lowest in the western group. Among the several sanitary districts
the rate of mortality was highest in Limehouse (106), and lowest in St. James', Westminster
(0.05). During the first and second quarters of the year the rate of mortality was highest in the
eastern group of districts, and lowest in the western group; during the third quarter the rate of
mortality was highest in the southern group of districts, and lowest in the eastern group; and
during the fourth quarter the rate of mortality was highest in the southern group of districts and
lowest in the central group.
* See footnote ('), page 3.
2 See footnote (2), page 8.
[5]