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 1903
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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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 |
| 1891 | 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 |
| 1903 | 1.751 |
It will be seen from the following table that London in the period 1893-1902 had a
lower death-rate from these diseases than any of the undermentioned English towns except
Bristol, Bradford, Nottingham, and Newcastle ; and in 1903 had a lower death-rate than any
except Leeds, Bristol, Bradford, Newcastle and Leicester.
The following table shows that the London death-rate from the first six of these principal
epidemic diseases, viz.—small-pox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping-cough, and fever,
was, in the period 1893-1902, exceeded only by that of St. Petersburg, and in 1903 was higher
than that of any except St. Petersburg and New York—
| Towns. | 1893-1902. | 1903. | Towns. | 1893-1902. | 1903. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | 2.15 | 1.36 | |||
| Liverpool | 3.43 | 2.51 | West Ham | 3.55 | 2.65 |
| Manchester | 3.32 | 2.54 | Hull | 3.15 | 2.19 |
| Birmingham | 3.02 | 2.32 | Nottingham | 2.53 | 2.01 |
| Leeds | 2.77 | 1.76 | Salford | 4.19 | 2.86 |
| Sheffield | 3.35 | 3.10 | Newcastle | 2.30 | 1.22 |
| Bristol | 1.99 | 1.08 | Leicester | 3.03 | 1.46 |
| Towns. | 1893-1902. | 1903. | Towns. | 1893-1902. | 1903. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg | 3.19 | 2.44 | |||
| Paris | 0.97 | 0.57 | Berlin | 1.22 | 0.74 |
| Brussels | 0.80 | 0.71 | Vienna | 1.32 | 0.70 |
| Amsterdam | 0.80 | 0.58 | Rome | 1.12 | 0.83 |
| Copenhagen | 1.12 | 0.53 | New York | 1.52 | 1.22 |
| Stockholm | 1.24 | 0.63 |
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 1903—
| Metropolitan borough. | Deaths in 1903. | Death-rate per 1,000 living, 1903. | Metropolitan borough. | Deaths in 1903. | Death-rate per 1,000 living, 1903. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 191 | 1.31 | Shoreditch | 340 | 2.91 |
| Kensington | 278 | 1.56 | Bethnal-green | 290 | 2.23 |
| Hammersmith | 185 | 1.61 | Stepney | 712 | 2.36 |
| Fulham | 327 | 2.21 | Poplar | 505 | 2.97 |
| Chelsea | 84 | 1.13 | Southwark | 412 | 1.99 |
| Westminster, City of | 179 | 1.00 | Bermondsey | 265 | 2.04 |
| St. Marylebone | 210 | 1.61 | Lambeth | 530 | 1.70 |
| Hampstead | 49 | 0.58 | Battersea | 343 | 1.98 |
| St. Pancras | 448 | 1.92 | Wandsworth | 401 | 1.62 |
| Islington | 489 | 1.44 | Camberwell | 359 | 1.36 |
| Stoke Newington | 76 | 1.46 | Deptford | 246 | 2.19 |
| Hackney | 397 | 1.77 | Greenwich | 173 | 1.73 |
| Holborn | 83 | 1.44 | Lewisham | 131 | 0.95 |
| Finsbury | 231 | 2.31 | Woolwich | 133 | 1.10 |
| London, City of | 21 | 0.85 |
1 See footnote(1) page 7. 2 See footnote (2) page 7.