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 number of cases notified and the number of deaths registered from this disease since 1890 have been as follows—
| Year. | Cases. | Case-rate per 1,000 living. | Deaths.1 | Death-rate per 1,000 living. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891 | 4,764 | 1.13 | 214 | .05 |
| 1892 | 6,934 | 1.63 | 292 | .07 |
| 1893 | 9,700 | 2.26 | 424 | .10 |
| 1894 | 6,080 | 1.40 | 221 | .05 |
| 1895 | 5,660 | 1.30 | 179 | .04 |
| 1896 | 6.436 | 1.43 | 207 | .05 |
| 1897 | 5,794 | 1.31 | 184 | .04 |
| 1898 | 5,169 | 1.16 | 165 | .04 |
| 1899 | 5,606 | 1.25 | 213 | .05 |
| 1900 | 4,762 | 1.06 | 182 | .04 |
| 1901 | 4,604 | 1.02 | 171 | .04 |
| 1902 | 5,536 | 1.19 | 183 | .04 |
| 1903 | 4,372 | 0.95 | 183 | .04 |
The number of cases of erysipelas notified and the Case-rate in the year 1903, together with the Case-rate in the decennium 1893.1902 for each of the metropolitan boroughs, are shown in the following table—
| Metropolitan borough. | Cases, 1903. | Case-rate per 1,000 living. | Metropolitan borough. | Cases, 1903. | Case-rate per 1,000 living. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893. 1902. | 1903. | 1893. 1902. | 1903. | ||||
| Paddington | 119 | 1.1 | 0.8 | Bethnal-green | 214 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| Kensington | 177 | 1.2 | 1.0 | Stepney | 376 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
| Hammersmith | 109 | 1.0 | 0.9 | Poplar | 144 | 1.7 | 0.9 |
| Fulham | 116 | 1.1 | 0.8 | Southwark | 239 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
| Chelsea | 55 | 1.1 | 0.7 | Bermondsey | 182 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
| Westminster, City of | 111 | 0.8 | 0.6 | Lambeth | 231 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
| St. Marylebone | 177 | 1.7 | 1.4 | Battersea | 149 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
| Hampstead | 41 | 0.7 | 0.5 | Wandsworth | 235 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| St. Pancras | 224 | 1.6 | 1.0 | Camberwell | 233 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Islington | 228 | 1.1 | 0.7 | Deptford | 134 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| Stoke Newington | 30 | 0.8 | 0.6 | Greenwich | 73 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| Hackney | 281 | 1.4 | 1.3 | Lewisham | 82 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Holborn | 90 | 1.9 | 1.6 | Woolwich | 58 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
| Finsbury | 106 | 1.8 | 1.1 | Port of London | I | — | — |
| London, City of | 10 | 1.0 | 0.4 | ||||
| Shoreditch | 147 | 1.7 | 1.3 | ||||
The relationship between erysipelas prevalence and season will be seen on reference to
diagram IV., page 13. The seasonal curve is not unlike that of enteric fever, except that the
variations from the mean are not so marked, the maximum in relation to the mean being smaller
and the minimum greater.
The following table shows the age and sex distribution of the notified cases of erysipelas in 1903—
| Age period. | All ages. | 0- | 5- | 10- | 15- | 20- | 25- | 35- | 45- | 55- | 65- | 75 and upwards. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males | 1,840 | 147 | 72 | 76 | 83 | 88 | 242 | 377 | 355 | 205 | 123 | 72 |
| Females | 2,532 | 181 | 73 | 106 | 172 | 179 | 331 | 432 | 440 | 306 | 217 | 95 |
| Persons | 4,372 | 328 | 145 | 182 | 255 | 267 | 573 | 809 | 795 | 511 | 340 | 167 |
The table shows, so fur as the figures relating to notified cases of this disease can be trusted
in this connection, that the incidence of this disease is greatest upon the later ages of life
and that the number of females attacked considerably exceeds the number of males attacked.
Puerperal Fever.2
The deaths in the administrative county of London in 1903 attributed to puerperal fever
numbered 170, the corrected annual average of the preceding ten years being 216.
The number of cases notified and the number of deaths registered from this cause sinca
the year 1890 have been as follows—
1 See footnote (2), page 7.
2 Including deaths from puerperal septicaemia and puerperal pyaemia.