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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It will be seen from the foregoing table that the death-rate from the principal epidemic
diseases was highest in Shoreditch (3.53) and lowest in Hampstead (0.81). The death-rates
from these diseases in London during each of the four quarters of the year 1902 were as follows—
first quarter 2.34; second quarter 2.08; third quarter 2.67, and fourth quarter 1.76 per
1,000 living.
Smallpox and Vaccination.
The deaths from smallpox in the administrative county of London numbered 1,314 in
1902 (53 weeks), and 4 deaths were attributed to cow pox and effects of vaccination.
The death-rates from smallpox in successive periods have been as follows—
| Period. | Smallpox death-rate per 1,000 living. | Period. | Smallpox death-rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1851-60 | 0.28 | 1895 | 0.0121 |
| 1861-70 | 0.28 | 1896 | 0.0021 |
| 1871-80 | 0.46 | 1897 | 0.0041 |
| 1881-90 | 0.14 | 1898 | 0.0001 |
| 1891 | — | 1899 | 0.0011 |
| 1892 | 0.0071 | 1900 | 0.0011 |
| 1893 | 0.0401 | 1901 | 0.0511 |
| 1894 | 0.0201 | 1902 | 0.2821 |
| In this table where — is inserted no deaths occurred. | |||
The smallpox death-rate in each year since 1840 in relation to the mean smallpox deathrate
of the period 1841-1902 is shown in diagram IV.
During the complete years in which the notification of infectious diseases has been obligatory, the number of cases of smallpox notified to the medical officers of health in the various sanitary districts comprised in the administrative county has been as follows—
| Year. | Cases notified. | Case rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 60 | 0.014 |
| 1891 | 114 | 0.027 |
| 1892 | 425 | 0.100 |
| 1893 | 2,815 | 0.653 |
| 1894 | 1,193 | 0.274 |
| 1895 | 980 | 0.223 |
| 1896 | 225 | 0.050 |
| 1897 | 104 | 0.023 |
| 1898 | 33 | 0.007 |
| 1899 | 29 | 0.006 |
| 1900 | 86 | 0.019 |
| 1901 | 1,700 | 0.375 |
| 1902 | 7,796 | 1.675 |
If the London smallpox death-rate be compared with the death-rates of the following
large English towns it will be seen that in the period 1892-1901 the London death-rate was
exceeded by the death-rates of Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Bradford, Hull and West Ham,
while in 1902 it was considerably higher than the death-rates of any of the undermentioned
towns except West Ham.
| Towns. | 1892-1901. | 1902. | Towns. | 1892-1901. | 1902. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | 0.00 | — | |||
| Manchester | 0.01 | — | Bradford | 0.07 | — |
| Liverpool | 0.02 | 0.03 | Hull | 0.08 | — |
| Birmingham | 0.05 | 0.01 | Salford | 0.01 | — |
| Leeds | 0.01 | 0.01 | West Ham | 0.05 | 0.54 |
| Sheffield | 0.00 | — | Leicester | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| Bristol | 0.02 | 0.00 | Newcastle | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| In this table 0.00 indicates that the deaths were too few to give a rate of 0.005 ; where no death occurred — is inserted. 1 See footnote (1), page 12. 2 See footnote(2), page 13. | |||||
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