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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(B.) Diphtheria—Comparative death-rates1 (London death rate taken as100)in sanitary districts,

1887-1900.

Sanitary district.Year
1887.1888.1889.1890.1891.1892.1893.1894.1895.1896.1897.1898.1899.1900.
Paddington1132139510363527712573861021235362
Kensington10417717661534565751026894385847
Hammersmith2221351291552341687180838356545374
Fulham113423976667384162135112106126105147
Chelsea874866176539372891131981121106356
St. George, Hanover-square70181974881755739585142313541
Westminster191210132486318235797563861084444
St. James48612136885777103331526593353
Marylebone4352615856778884488866826080
Hampstead96843494598971443766446244112
Pancras113100681679410211382106689410310791
Islington65525376156107811108512576678491
Stoke Newington83113116881061271162529951123640121
Hackney9775801241419379
St. Giles2398711173941207559653138413068
St. Martin-in-the-Fields1396134218819177721023948621950
Strand1573579456373120611042042447041
Holborn11345129158841189110342641061874750
Clerkenwell10912695851319515384981051461419882
St. Luke11774791128875147599210510215158100
London, City of528779851061504130465866875865
Shoreditch9684147139166821481009010212892126141
Bethnal-green9113220826714720714116915097130123107144
Whitechapel351061212062281771079814410286647771
St. George-in-the-East143106247197131164179179204105118745885
Limehouse1041392161458810014114415014110011313585
Mile-end Old-town91611321211061719712119414611214413591
Poplar7884103127103107133105173103142133105200
St. Saviour, Southwark1261521165512850871269811996156163188
St. George, Southwark871268970941001001345411092154242112
Newington104521268211975105848398106151195171
St. Olave70103219412555764165129346918882
Bermondsey83527167595512512865142146131240212
Rotherhithe706811161316410412814810710469181197
Lambeth1701291538288107878073789697119100
Battersea8365618214480143120110831261798459
Wandsworth14879427291897448361141137756
Camberwell13094826763757212813817113285142150
Greenwich1047150858870116126204132786293103
Lewisham7415218643461926233149847414076
Woolwich35263936162327566512516011811950
Lee100453742253672925673869081121
Plumstead109132718234159157105119154786258109
London100100100100100100100100100100100100100100

Diphtheria and elementary schools.
With the exception of the occurrence of a considerable number of cases of diphtheria
in the vicinity of the St. Marylebone Infirmary, North Kensington, mentioned by the medical
officer of health for Kensington, the only special prevalences of diphtheria discussed by
medical officers of health in their annual reports are those which have been associated with
school attendance. The medical officer of health of Fulham in a separate report discusses a
special prevalence of the disease in the 13 weeks ending the 24th November occurring
particularly in the Munster and Sand's-end wards, and especially the latter, largely due,
Dr. Jackson states, to the existence of unrecognised cases. Inquiry into the circumstances of
the prevalence led Dr. Jackson to advise the closing for two weeks of class-room H. of the
infants' department of the Langford-road Board School and the exclusion from the school of
other children attending the school and living in the same houses as the children attending
that class-room. This advice was acted upon by the Vestry of Fulham, and the circumstances
which led to it deserve to be stated in detail, inasmuch as the London School Board appealed to
the Board of Education against the action of the sanitary authority, the School Board being of
opinion "that the steps taken are unnecessary, and a doubt exists as to whether in such a case
as this children can legally be excluded from obtaining proper educational advantages when
not residing in infected houses." As the result of this appeal the Local Government Board
called for a report by the medical officer of health upon the circumstances which led him to
advise the particular course adopted, and subsequently informed the Board of Education "that
the course pursued does not appear to the Board to be unreasonable."
The following is extracted from Dr. Jackson's report—
Langford-road Board School. (Sand's-end Ward.)—Dealing now with this school, there was, during
the first six weeks of the period under consideration, no exceptional incidence of the disease upon the
See footnote, (1) page 5.