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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36
Diarrhoea.
The deaths in the administrative county of London attributed to epidemic diarrhoea
(infective enteritis) numbered 1,397 in 1903, while 1,561 deaths were attributed to diarrhoea and
dysentery.
The age distribution of these deaths was as follows—
| Disease. | Under 1 year. | 1-5 | 5-20 | 20-40 | 40-60 | 60-80 | 80 and upwards. | All ages. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epidemic diarrhoea (infective enteritis) | 1,109 | 269 | 7 | — | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1,397 |
| Diarrhoea and dysentery | 1,059 | 206 | 15 | 48 | 61 | 127 | 45 | 1,561 |
| Total | 2,168 | 475 | 22 | 48 | 65 | 133 | 47 | 2,958 |
No accurate comparison of the deaths from epidemic diarrhoea for a long series of years in
Loudon can be made, diagram XVIII., however, shows the deaths from cholera, dysentery and
diarrhoea combined, in relation to the mean of the period 1841 1903 in each year since 1840.
The following table shows that the London diarrhoea death-rate was, in the decennium
1893-1902, lower than the death-rate of any of the undermentioned large English towns except
Bristol, and in the year 1903 was lower than that of any except Leeds, Bristol, Bradford, Newcastle
and Leicester—
| Towns. | 1893-1902. | 1903. | Towns. | 1893-1902. | 1903. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.801 | 0.641 | Bradford | 0.90 | 0.51 |
| Liverpool | 1.50 | 0.98 | West Ham | 1.25 | 1.11 |
| Manchester | 1.44 | 0.89 | Hull | 1.58 | 1.25 |
| Birmingham | 1.33 | 1.11 | Nottingham | 1.26 | 0.68 |
| Leeds | 1.14 | 0.63 | Salford | 1.67 | 0.98 |
| Sheffield | 1.49 | 1.27 | Newcastle | 0.82 | 0.58 |
| Bristol | 0.66 | 0.28 | Leicester | 1.48 | 0.60 |
The deaths and death-rate per 1,000 living in the year 1903 in each of the metropolitan boroughs are shown in the following table—
| Metropolitan Borough. | Deaths, 1903. | Death-rate per 1,000 living, 1903. | Metropolitan Borough. | Deaths, 1903. | Death-rate per 1,000 living, 1903. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 65 | 0.45 | Shoreditch ... | 152 | 1.30 |
| Kensington | 107 | 0.60 | Bethnal-green | 112 | 0.86 |
| Hammersmith | 93 | 0.81 | Stepney | 321 | 1.07 |
| Fulham | 172 | 1.17 | Poplar | 166 | 0.98 |
| Chelsea | 31 | 0.42 | Southwark | 197 | 0.95 |
| Westminster, City of | 55 | 0.31 | Bermondsey | 115 | 0.89 |
| Marylebone | 59 | 0.45 | Lambeth | 194 | 0.63 |
| Hampstead | 9 | 0.11 | Battersea | 101 | 0.58 |
| Pancras | 90 | 0.38 | Wandsworth | 126 | 0.51 |
| Islington | 121 | 0.36 | Camberwell | 142 | 0.54 |
| Stoke Newington | 21 | 0.40 | Deptford | 72 | 0.64 |
| Hackney | 112 | 0.50 | Greenwich | 71 | 0.71 |
| Holborn | 29 | 0.50 | Lewisham | 49 | 0.36 |
| Finsbury | 76 | 0.76 | Woolwich | 59 | 0.49 |
| London, City of | 8 | 0.33 | London | 2,925 | 0.642 |
It will be seen from the foregoing table that the diarrhoea death-rate was highest in
Shoreditch (1.30) and lowest in Hampstead (0.ll). The diarrhoea death-rates in London in each
of the four quarters of the year 1903 were as follows—First quarter 0-22 ; second quarter 0'23 ;
third quarter 1.49 ; and fourth quarter 0.59 per 1,000 living.
Erysipelas.
The deaths from erysipelas registered in the administrative county of London during
1903 (52 weeks) numbered i83, the corrected annual average of the preceding 10 years being 213.
1 See footnote (v), page 7.
2 See footnote (1), page 7.