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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| No. of week. | Cases notified. | No. of week. | Cases notified. | No. of week. | Cases notified. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notifications not complete for these weeks. | 20 | 636 | 39 | 164 |
| 2 | 21 | 569 | 40 | 251 | |
| 3 | 22 | 980 | 41 | 203 | |
| 4 | 23 | 1,002 | 42 | 381 | |
| 5 | 24 | 878 | 43 | 404 | |
| 6 | 349 | 25 | 786 | 44 | 547 |
| 7 | 519 | 26 | 686 | 45 | 669 |
| 8 | 471 | 27 | 981 | 46 | 603 |
| 9 | 610 | 28 | 658 | 47 | 683 |
| 10 | 597 | 29 | 464 | 48 | 607 |
| 11 | 572 | 30 | 360 | 49 | 765 |
| 12 | 608 | 31 | 323 | 50 | 698 |
| 13 | 420 | 32 | 341 | 51 | 600 |
| 14 | 514 | 33 | 301 | 52 | 526 |
| 15 | 502 | 34 | 313 | 53 | 714 |
| 16 | 358 | 35 | 268 | ||
| 17 | 567 | 36 | 205 | ||
| 18 | 569 | 37 | 188 | ||
| 19 | 418 | 38 | 181 | Total |
The objection against the use of a single year's figures, previously referred to in discussing
the character of the seasonal curve of chicken-pox, cannot be urged when these figures are used
to show the age and sex incidence of the disease, as the number of cases (over 25,000) is sufficiently
large to give reliable results, and to indicate with sufficient accuracy the normal age-incidence of
the disease on the London population. The following table shows the age and sex distribution
of the 25,009 cases of the disease notified in London during the period in which the disease was
compulsorily notifiable.
| Age period. | Males. | Females. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases. | Annual case-rate per 100,000 living. | Cases. | Annual case-rate per 100,000 living. | |
| 0— | 1,249 | 2,481 | 1,202 | 2,406 |
| 1— | 1,218 | 2,735 | 1,201 | 2,696 |
| 2— | 1,199 | 2,663 | 1,167 | 2,602 |
| 3— | 1,492 | 3,403 | 1,467 | 3,306 |
| 4— | 1,704 | 3,972 | 1,649 | 3,862 |
| 5— | 4,490 | 2,230 | 4,710 | 2,317 |
| 10— | 616 | 324 | 768 | 397 |
| 15— | 192 | 101 | 183 | 86 |
| 20— | 89 | 45 | 122 | 51 |
| 25 and upwards | 133 | !4 | 158 | 14 |
| All ages | 12,382 | 632 | 12,627 | 577 |
The table shows that the incidence of the disease was greater upon males than upon females
at "all ages," and this greater incidence was manifest at the age-periods which are especially liable
to attack from this disease, viz., ages 0—5. The greatest incidence of attack in the case of both
males and females was upon age 4—5, and in this respect a parallel may be found in scarlet fever
and diphtheria, although the incidence of attack upon the higher ages in the case of the two latter
diseases is proportionately greater. One feature in the age incidence of chicken-pox which
markedly distinguishes it from the other notifiable diseases is the high case-rate which obtains at
age 0—1. It is a well-known fact that children of this age enjoy comparative immunity from
attack by scarlet fever and diphtheria, and various reasons have been advanced to account for this.
The figures shown in the table relating to children of this age are in such marked contrast to those
of the other notifiable diseases that they are of special interest.
The following table shows the case-rates obtaining in each of the metropolitan boroughs.
It will be seen that the incidence of the disease varied considerably in different parts of London.
The highest case-rate obtained in Deptford (12.3 per 1,000 living), and the lowest in Chelsea (3.1).
The variations shown in the table would, however, probably be within narrower limits if the
case-rates for ages 0—10 were shown instead of the case-rates at "all ages."