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 1904
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Proportion of cases admitted to hospital.
It will be seen from diagram VII. that the proportion of cases of this disease admitted to the
hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board was slightly in excess of the proportion admitted during
the preceding year.
Diphtheria.
The cases of diphtheria (including membranous croup) notified in the administrative county of
London in 1904 (52 weeks) numbered 7,219, compared with 7,738 in 1903. The number of deaths
registered from this cause in 1904 was 723, compared with 740 in 1903.
The diphtheria case-rates, death-rates, and case mortality in 1904, and preceding periods, are shown in the following table :—
| Period. | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living. | Case-rate per 1,000 persons living. | Case mortality per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861-70 | 0.18 | -2 | -2 |
| 1871-80 | 0.12 | -2 | -2 |
| 1881-90 | 0.26 | 2 | -2 |
| 1891-1900 | 0.491 | 2.6 | 19.0' |
| 1901 | 0.291 | 2.7 | 10.9 |
| 1902 | 0.251 | 2.3 | 10.8 |
| 1903 | 0.161 | 1.7 | 9.6 |
| 1904 | 0.16 | 1.6 | 10.0 |
The death-rate in each year since 1858 in relation to the mean death-rate of the period 1859—
1904 is shown for diphtheria and for diphtheria and croup combined in diagram IX.
The monthly case-rate and case-mortality in each of the years 1891-1904 in relation to the mean
of the whole period is shown in diagram XI.
If the London diphtheria death-rate be compared with the death-rates of the following large English
towns, it will be seen that in the decennium 1894-1903 the London rate exceeded the rates of all these
towns, except Sheffield, West Ham, and Leicester, while in 1904 it was lower than the rates of any except
Leeds, Sheffield, West Ham, and Leicester.
| Towns. | 1894-1903. | 1904. | Towns. | 1894-1903. | 1904. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0. 423 | 0.163 | Bradford | 0.13 | 0.57 |
| Liverpool | 0.24 | 0.27 | West Ham | 0.63 | 0.15 |
| Manchester | 0.19 | 0.17 | Hull | 0.18 | 0.25 |
| Birmingham | 0.27 | 0.24 | Nottingham | 0.11 | 0.28 |
| Leeds | 0.34 | 0.10 | Salford | 0.32 | 0.49 |
| Sheffield | 0.44 | 0.11 | Newcastle | 0.16 | 0.22 |
| Bristol | 0.25 | 0.30 | Leicester | 0.50 | 0.03 |
The following table shows that the London diphtheria death-rate in the decennium 1894-1903
was higher than that of any of the undermentioned foreign towns, except Stockholm, St. Petersburg,
and New York, and in 1904 was exceeded by the death-rates of St. Petersburg, Berlin, Vienna, and New
York.
| Towns. | 1894-1903. | 1904. | Towns. | 1894-1903. | 1904. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.421 | 0 .163 | St. Petersburg | 0.90 | 0.50 |
| Paris | 0.19 | 0.12 | Berlin | 0.33 | 0.18 |
| Brussels | 0.13 | 0.10 | Vienna | 0.37 | 0.21 |
| Amsterdam | 0.15 | 0.12 | Bome | 0.09 | 0.15 |
| Copenhagen | 0.22 | 0.08 | New York | 0.62 | 0.60 |
| Stockholm | 0.45 | 0.16 |
1 See footnote (') page 7.
2 The Infectious Diseases (Notification) Act came into foroe in 1889.
3 See footnote (2) page 7.
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