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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| Towns. | 1891-1900. | 1901. | Towns. | 1891-1900. | 1901. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.501 | 0.301 | Nottingham | 0.09 | 0.12 |
| Manchester | 0.19 | 0.24 | Bradford | 0.09 | 0.12 |
| Liverpool | 0.20 | 0.27 | Hull | 0.12 | 0.18 |
| Birmingham | 0.24 | 0.16 | Salford | 0.28 | 0.63 |
| Leeds | 0.29 | 0.41 | West Ham | 0.60 | 0.65 |
| Sheffield | 0.39 | 0.63 | Leicester | 0.43 | 0.73 |
| Bristol | 0.17 | 0.38 | Newcastle | 0.18 | 0.16 |
It will be seen from the following table that the London diphtheria death rate in the
period 1891-1900 was higher than that of any of the undermentioned foreign towns, except
Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Vienna and New York, and in 1901 was higher than that
of any, except Stockholm, St. Petersburg and New York. The inclusion of deaths from croup,
however, in the case of several of these towns makes comparisons of the death rates of little
value.t
| Towns. | 1891-1900. | 1901. | Towns. | 1891-1900. | 1901. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.50' | 0.301 | St. Petersburg | 0.92 | 0.94 |
| Paris | 0.29* | 0.27* | Berlin | 0.51 | 0.25 |
| Brussels | 0.13* | 0.13* | Vienna | 0.61* | 0.23* |
| Amsterdam | 0.20* | 0.11 | Rome | 0.18 | 0.09 |
| Copenhagen | 0.43 | 0.09 | New York | 0.71* | 0.08* |
| Stockholm | 0.73* | 0.45* |
The case rate of each of the metropolitan boroughs in 1891-1900 and in 1901, and the deaths and death rate in 1901 are shown in the following table—
| Metropolitan borough. | Cases, 1901. | Case-rate per 1,000 living. | Deaths, 1901. | Death-rate per 1,000 living, 1901. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891-1900. | 1901. | ||||
| Paddington | 340 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 46 | 0.32 |
| Kensington | 251 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 38 | 0.22 |
| Hammersmith | 226 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 36 | 0.32 |
| Fulham | 644 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 48 | 0.35 |
| Chelsea | 107 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 9 | 0.12 |
| Westminster, City of | 255 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 21 | 0.12 |
| St. Marylebone | 259 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 33 | 0.25 |
| Hampstead | 153 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 20 | 0.24 |
| St. Pancras | 941 | 2.2 | 4.0 | 109 | 0.46 |
| Islington | 915 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 132 | 0.39 |
| Stoke Newington | 144 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 14 | 0.27 |
| Hackney | 979 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 97 | 0.44 |
| Holborn | 167 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 15 | 0.25 |
| Finsbury | 297 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 36 | 0.36 |
| London, City of | 68 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 8 | 0.30 |
| Shoreditch | 326 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 29 | 0.25 |
| Bethnal-green | 463 | 3.7 | 8.6 | 63 | 0.49 |
| Stepney | 845 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 76 | 0.25 |
| Poplar | 619 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 83 | 0.49 |
| Southwark | 558 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 53 | 0.26 |
| Bermondsey | 329 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 37 | 0.28 |
| Lambeth | 527 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 51 | 0.17 |
| Battersea | 267 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 20 | 0.12 |
| Wandsworth | 478 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 41 | 0.18 |
| Camberwell | 867 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 112 | 0.43 |
| Deptford | 427 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 37 | 0.34 |
| Greenwich | 188 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 22 | 0.23 |
| Lewisham | 299 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 24 | 0.19 |
| Woolwich | 217 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 20 | 0.17 |
| Port of London | — | — | — | — | |
| London | 12,156 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 1,330 | 0.292 |
The northern group of districts had the highest diphtheria death rate during the year
1901, viz., 0'38 per 1,000 living, and the western and southern groups the lowest (0'24). Among
. Including deaths from croup.
t The death.rate in London from diphtheria, including deaths from croup, was 0 53 in 1891 1900, and 0 31 in 1901.
1 See footnote (2) page 9.
2 See footnote (') page 9.