London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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London County Council 1900

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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the lowest (0.07). Of the districts the mortality was highest in Limehouse (0'22) and lowest in
the districts of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. Saviour and Lee, in each of which districts no death
from this disease was recorded throughout the year. During the first quarter of the year the
northern group of districts had the highest death-rate (0.10) and the western and southern groups
the lowest (0.06); during the second quarter the central group of districts had the highest deathrate
(014) and the western group the lowest (0.06); during the third quarter of the year the
eastern group of districts had the highest death-rate (0.11) and the northern group the lowest
(0.04); and during the fourth quarter of the year the central group of districts had the highest
death-rate (0.15) and the northern group again the lowest (0.05).

The case-rate of each district in 1891-9 and in 1900 and the death-rate of each district in 1890-9 and in 1900 are shown in the following table—

Sanitary district.Cases, 1900.Case-rate per 1,000 living.Deaths, 1900.Death-rate per 1,000 living.
1891-9.1900.1890-9.1900.
Paddington3063.82.45.12.04
Kensington3663.72.14.17.02
Hammersmith3524.23.27.17.06
Fulham5525.34.123.26.17
Chelsea2334.52.57.20.07
St. George, Hanover-square1673.62.26.12.08
Westminster1223.82.31.19.02
St. James623.22.91.15.05
Marylebone3823.92.912.19.09
Hampstead2243.82.84.11.05
Pancras6585.02.810.20.04
Islington1,0885.13.325.17.07
Stoke Newington1265.93.74.19.12
Hackney6953.219.09
St. Giles983.72.84.13.11
St. Martin-in-the-Fields243.42.0-.13-
Strand793.83.81.20.05
Holborn994.83.34.19.13
Clerkenwell1385.82.110.27.16
St. Luke965.12.52.32.05
London, City of834.53.05.18.18
Shoreditch3274.92.816.24.14
Bethnal-green3706.12.912.26.09
Whitechapel3995.55.111.24.14
St. George-in-the-East1385.32.86.33.12
Limehouse1726.33.013.29.22
Mile-end Old-town3346.03.07.22.06
Poplar4985.83.08.25.05
St. Saviour, Southwark824.63.5.26-
St. George, Southwark2515.44.111.29.18
Newington3565.52.911.24.09
St. Olave375.43.51.29.09
Bermondsey2585.43.17.28.08
Rotherhithe1025.72.66.27.16
Lambeth8244.82.821.18.07
Battersea5456.33.211.20.07
Wandsworth6734.63.017.12.08
Camberwell8174.63.212.17.05
Greenwich6855.83.715.22.08
Lewisham5013.43.99.08.07
Woolwich1345.03.26.23.14
Lee1376.43.0.16-
Plumstead2984.57.25.10
Port of London4-
London13892503.1361.201.081

With decreasing prevalence of scarlet fever in London and diminishing virulence as manifested
by lower fatality, but few special outbreaks of the disease are commented on by the medical
officers of health of the several districts in the county. The medical officer of health of St.
Marylebone gives account of an outbreak in the St. Marylebone Charity Schools, in which fourteen
cases occurred between the 18tli and 27th October. The remaining children we're, on his recommendation,
removed to another house. Subsequently two of these children developed scarlet;
fever, and their prompt isolation brought the outbreak to an end. The medical officer of health of
Clerkenwell gives account of cases of scarlet fever occurring in seven families. " In: the first
nine cases either the patient or some member of the family attended the same elementary school,
and other cases attributed their infection to another school. Neither of these schools came under
our supervision." In Paddington nine cases occurred in a "high-class" girls' boarding school.
Dr. Reginald Dudfield, as the result of careful enquiry into the causes of infection, concluded
that the first child attacked, probably contracted disease when in a crowd witnessing a procession,
1 See footnote page 5.