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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From the following table it will be seen that the London smallpox death-rate in the
period 1892-1901 exceeded that of any of the following large foreign towns except Paris, Brussels,
St. Petersburg, Vienna, and New York, and in 1902 was considerably in excess of that of any
of these towns.
| Towns. | 1892-1901. | 1902. | Towns. | 1892-1901. | 1902. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | St. Petersburg | 0.11 | 0.04 | ||
| Paris | 0.05 | 0.03 | Berlin | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Brussels | 0.01 | 0.02 | Vienna | 0.01 | — |
| Amsterdam | 0.00 | — | Rome | 0.00 | 0.02 |
| Copenhagen | 0.00 | — | New York | 0.03 | 0.08 |
| Stockholm | 0.00 | — | |||
| In this table 0.00 indicates that the deaths were too few to give a rate of 0.005; where — is inserted no death occurred. | |||||
In the annual report for the year 1901 account was given of the progress of smallpox in that
year. The cases of this disease, which had increased in November and December, 1901, continued
to increase during the first three months of 1902, attaining a maximum in March, after
which there was decline until the beginning of September, subsequent to which the number of
cases notified in any week did not exceed eight. This will be seen by reference to the following
table—
| Week ended | No. of cases notified. | Week ended | No. of cases notified. | Week ended | No. of cases notified. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 4 | 249 | May 10 | 219 | September 6 | 13 |
| „ 11 | 297 | „ 17 | 181 | „ 13 | 8 |
| „ 18 | 230 | „ 24 | 271 | „ 20 | 4 |
| „ 25 | 184 | „ 31 | 264 | „ 27 | 3 |
| February 1 | 422 | June 7 | 206 | October 4 | 3 |
| „ 8 | 305 | „ 14 | 165 | „ 11 | 4 |
| „ 15 | 368 | „ 21 | 101 | „ 18 | 3 |
| „ 22 | 417 | „ 28 | 127 | „ 25 | 2 |
| March 1 | 350 | July 5 | 77 | November 1 | 5 |
| „ 8 | 466 | „ 12 | 47 | „ 8 | 3 |
| „ 15 | 430 | „ 19 | 47 | „ 15 | 2 |
| „ 22 | 418 | „ 26 | 21 | „ 22 | 6 |
| „ 29 | 340 | August 2 | 46 | „ 29 | 3 |
| April 5 | 351 | „ 9 | 25 | December 6 | 7 |
| „ 12 | 278 | „ 16 | 22 | „ 13 | 1 |
| „ 19 | 272 | „ 23 | 26 | „ 20 | 2 |
| „ 26 | 279 | „ 30 | 12 | „ 27 | 1 |
| May 3 | 212 | January 3, 1903 | 1 |
By the end of 1901 cases of this disease had occurred in every district of London, and in
St. Pancras (in which smallpox first assumed serious proportions), in Westminster, and in Holborn,
the number of cases had either attained or had nearly approached the maximum reached in these
districts during the epidemic.
In the first thirteen weeks of 1902 the chief incidence of the disease was on the eastern
districts (10.3 cases per 1,000 population) comprising Stepney, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and
Poplar. Of these districts Stepney suffered most in this quarter (12.4 cases per 1,000). Smallpox
had, in the last month of 1901, begun seriously to invade the numerous common lodging-house
population of Stepney, and in each of the first three months of 1902 the disease made progress in
this as well as in the rest of the population, attaining a high maximum in February and March,
and lasting into August. Next to Stepney in the first quarter the greatest incidence was on Shoreditch
(10.6 cases per 1,000). The common lodging-house population of Shoreditch, however, which
is about one-tenth of that of Stepney, almost entirely escaped attack. Indeed, until the
last week of January, 1902, the number of cases in the general population of Shoreditch had
been relatively few, but in that week there was a marked increase. Dr. Bryett states in his
annual report that "between 25th January and 3rd February some sixty-two houses were invaded,
the majority during the four days ending 30th January." These houses were mostly
situate, towards the western boundary of the district, in streets leading from or in the near
neighbourhood of Nile-street. From 8th to 21st February a fresh series of houses was invaded,
these houses being not so much limited to the neighbourhood of Nile-street; and later the disease
appeared in a third series of houses which were scattered over the borough. The prevalence
attained a high maximum in this district in February and March, and lasted until the end of June.
After Shoreditch, the greatest incidence in the first quarter was on Bethnal Green (8.5 cases per