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 1902
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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24
Principal Epidemic Diseases.
The number of deaths in the administrative county of London from the principal epidemic
diseases, viz.—smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diptheria, whooping-cough, typhus, enteric, and
ill-defined fevers and diarrhœa during 1902 (53 weeks) was 10,280, giving an annual death-rate
of 2.21 per 1,000 living.
The death-rates in each year since 1890 have been as follows—
| Year. | Death-rate from principal epidemic diseases. |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 2.271 |
| 1892 | 2.801 |
| 1893 | 3.041 |
| 1894 | 2.651 |
| 1895 | 2.621 |
| 1896 | 3.111 |
| 1897 | 2.581 |
| 1898 | 2.801 |
| 1899 | 2.491 |
| 1900 | 2.231 |
| 1901 | 2.221 |
| 1902 | 2.211 |
It will be seen from the following table that London in the period 1892-1901 had a
lower death-rate from these diseases than any of the undermentioned towns except Bristol,
Nottingham, Bradford and Newcastle, and in 1902 a higher death-rate from these diseases than
any except Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Hull, Salford, and West Ham.
| Towns. | 1892-1901. | 1902. | Towns. | 1892-1901. | 1902. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | 2.62 | 1.32 | |||
| Manchester | 3.41 | 1.99 | Bradford | 2.16 | 1.43 |
| Liverpool | 3.40 | 3.08 | Hull | 3.18 | 2.27 |
| Birmingham | 3.01 | 2.53 | Salford | 4.38 | 2.67 |
| Leeds | 2.79 | 1.99 | West Ham | 3.53 | 3.20 |
| Sheffield | 3.48 | 1.69 | Leicester | 3.11 | 1.54 |
| Bristol | 1.93 | 2.82 | Newcastle | 2.29 | 1.75 |
The following table shows that the London death-rate from the first six of these principal
epidemic diseases, viz.—smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping-cough and fever
was both in the period 1892-1901 and in 1902 higher than that of any of these towns except
St. Petersburg.
| Towns. | 1892-1901. | 1902. | Towns. | 1892-1901. | 1902. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg | 3.34 | 2.30 | |||
| Paris | 1.03 | 0.91 | Berlin | 1.29 | 0.76 |
| Brussels | 0.85 | 0.57 | Vienna | 1.43 | 1.00 |
| Amsterdam | 0.76 | 1.31 | Rome | 1.08 | 1.61 |
| Copenhagen | 1.24 | 0.75 | New York | 1.58 | 1.47 |
| Stockholm | 1.45 | 0.49 |
The following table shows the deaths from the principal epidemic diseases and the death-rates per 1,000 living in each of the metropolitan boroughs in 1902—
| Metropolitan borough. | Deaths in 1902. | Death-rate per 1,000 living. | Metropolitan borough. | Deaths in 1902. | Death-rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 256 | 1.74 | Shoreditch | 425 | 3.53 |
| Kensington | 265 | 1.49 | Bethnal-green | 339 | 2.56 |
| Hammersmith | 222 | 1.90 | Stepney | 1,009 | 3.31 |
| Fulham | 454 | 3.13 | Poplar | 476 | 2.77 |
| Chelsea | 155 | 2.06 | Southwark | 653 | 3.10 |
| Westminster, City of | 234 | 1.28 | Bermondsey | 405 | 3.06 |
| St. Marylebone | 267 | 1.98 | Lambeth | 581 | 1.86 |
| Hampstead | 68 | 0.81 | Battersea | 346 | 1.98 |
| St. Pancras | 590 | 2.46 | Wandsworth | 402 | 1.62 |
| Islington | 614 | 1.80 | Camberwell | 596 | 2.23 |
| Stoke Newington | 61 | 1.17 | Deptford | 277 | 2.44 |
| Hackney | 443 | 1.98 | Greenwich | 159 | 1.59 |
| Holborn | 146 | 2.44 | Lewisham | 241 | 1.79 |
| Finsbury | 325 | 3.18 | Woolwich | 235 | 1.93 |
| London, City of | 36 | 1.38 | |||
| 1 See footnote (1), page 12. | 2 See footnote (1), page 13. | ||||