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 1901
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Scarlet fever—Age and sex distribution.
The following table shows the case rates, death rates, and fatality of scarlet fever during
the year 1901. It will he seen that the case rate, death rate and fatality were higher among
males at " all ages " than among females. In the age-groups adopted for the purposes of the
table the greatest incidence of attack was upon both males and females of four years of age.
The greatest incidence of death was upon males and females of two years of age. The fatality
was greatest among males under one year of age, and also among females under one year of age
if the age group 55 years and upwards be excepted on the ground of the smallness of the figures
at these asres.
| Age-period. | Males. | Females. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases. | Deaths. | Case mortality per cent. | Rates per 100,000 living. | Cases. | Deaths. | Case mortality per cent. | Rates per 100,000 living. | |||
| Cases. | Deaths. | Cases. | Deaths. | |||||||
| All ages. | 8,830 | 323 | 3.7 | 412 | 15 | 9,545 | 272 | 2.8 | 398 | 11 |
| 0— | 144 | 22 | 15.3 | 261 | 40 | 104 | 13 | 12.5 | 190 | 24 |
| 1— | 351 | 43 | 12.3 | 719 | 88 | 299 | 33 | 11.0 | 612 | 68 |
| 2— | 645 | 63 | 9.8 | 1,307 | 128 | 595 | 56 | 9.4 | 1,211 | 114 |
| 3— | 796 | 52 | 6.5 | 1,657 | 108 | 832 | 51 | 6.1 | 1,711 | 105 |
| 4— | 889 | 27 | 3.0 | 1,891 | 57 | 922 | 25 | 2.7 | 1,970 | 53 |
| 5— | 3,279 | 83 | 2.5 | 1,486 | 38 | 3,634 | 47 | 1.3 | 1,631 | 21 |
| 10— | 1,399 | 10 | 0.7 | 672 | 5 | 1,594 | 21 | 1.3 | 751 | 10 |
| 15— | 669 | 11 | 1.6 | 320 | 5 | 677 | 9 | 1.3 | 290 | 4 |
| 20— | 358 | 5 | 1.4 | 164 | 2 | 441 | 8 | 1.8 | 170 | 3 |
| 25— | 225 | 3 | 1.3 | 60 | 1 | 337 | 4 | 1.2 | 77 | 1 |
| 35— | 59 | 3 | 5.1 | 21 | 1 | 73 | 2 | 2.7 | 23 | 1 |
| 45— | 17 | 1 | 5.9 | 9 | 1 | 28 | 2 | 71 | 13 | 1 |
| 55 and upwards. | 5 | — | — | 3 | — | 6 | 1 | 16.7 | 2 | 0 |
Diphtheria.
The cases of diphtheria notified in the administrative county of London in 1901 numbered
12,156, compared with 12,023 in 1900. The number of deaths registered from this cause in 1901
was 1.330. comnared with 1.540 in 1900.
The diphtheria case rates and death rates in 1901 and preceding periods are shown in following table—
| Period. | Death-rate per 1,000 living. | Case-rate per 1,000 living. | Case-mortality per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861-70 | 0.18 | —† | — |
| 1871-80 | 0.12 | —† | — |
| 1881-90 | 0.26 | —† | — |
| 1891 | 0.311 | 1.5 | 22.5 |
| 1892 | 0.441 | 20 | 22.2 |
| 1893 | 0.741 | 3.2 | 23.3 |
| 1894 | 0.611 | 2.6 | 23.6 |
| 1895 | 0.521 | 2.6 | 20.4 |
| 1896 | 0.591 | 3.1 | 19.3 |
| 1897 | 0.501 | 3.0 | 17.0 |
| 1898 | 0.391 | 2.7 | 14.8 |
| 1899 | 0.431 | 3.1 | 14.2 |
| 1900 | 0.341 | 2.7 | 12.8 |
| 1901 | 0.291 | 2.7 | 10.9 |
The death rate in each year since 1858, in relation to the mean death rate of the period
1859-1901, is shown for diphtheria and for diphtheria and croup combined in diagram IX. The
monthly case rate and case mortality in each of the years 1891-1901 in relation to the mean
of the whole period is shown in diagram XI. This diagram shows that while there is no marked
diminution in the prevalence of the disease the case mortality continues to decline.
If the London diphtheria death rate be compared with the death rate of the following
large English towns it will be seen that in the period 1891-1900 the London rate exceeded the
rates of all these towns, except West Ham, and in 1901 exceeded the rates of till except Leeds,
Sheffield, Bristol, Salford, West Ham and Leicester.
* In the preparation of this table, the question whether the persons, who were attacked and who died, belonged to London is
disregarded, the pereen'age being calculated on the number of cases notified in London, and the number of deaths occurring in London
and the institutions belonging to London.
f The Infectious Direase (Notification) Act came into force in 1889. See footnote ('), page 9.
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