London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
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]
This page requires JavaScript
The following table shows the diphtheria cases, deaths, case-rates, and death-rates for the year 1904, the case-rates for the decennium 1894-1903, and the death-rates for the period 1901-3, in the several sanitary districts:—
| Sanitary area. | Cases, 1904. | Case-rate per 1,000 persons living. | Deaths, 1904. | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894-1903. | 1904. | 1901-3. | 1904. | |||
| Paddington | 143 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 19 | 0.21 | 0.13 |
| Kensington | 187 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 17 | 0.15 | 0.10 |
| Hammersmith | 204 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 22 | 0.22 | 0.19 |
| Fulham | 300 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 23 | 0.29 | 0.15 |
| Chelsea | 61 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 5 | 0.11 | 0.07 |
| Westminster, City of .. | 145 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 7 | 0.12 | 0.04 |
| St. Marylebone | 118 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 14 | 0.22 | 0.11 |
| Hampstead | 57 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 4 | 0.16 | 0.05 |
| St. Pancras | 349 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 38 | 0.36 | 0.16 |
| Islington | 347 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 29 | 0.27 | 0.09 |
| Stoke Newington | 61 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 8 | 0.17 | 0.15 |
| Hackney | 572 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 55 | 0.31 | 0.24 |
| Holborn | 46 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 4 | 0.19 | 0.07 |
| Finsbury | 145 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 16 | 0.28 | 0.16 |
| London, City of | 40 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2 | 0.25 | 0.09 |
| Shoreditch | 188 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 18 | 0.22 | 0.15 |
| Bethnal Green | 425 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 47 | 0.32 | 0.36 |
| Stepney | . 821 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 90 | 0.24 | 0.30 |
| Poplar | 670 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 84 | 0.39 | 0.50 |
| Southwark | 281 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 26 | 0.22 | 0.13 |
| Bermondsey | 193 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 16 | 0.22 | 0.12 |
| Lambeth | 327 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 34 | 0.14 | 0.11 |
| Battersea | 227 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 14 | 0.13 | 0.08 |
| Wandsworth | 404 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 42 | 0.21 | 0.16 |
| Camberwell | 270 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 21 | 0.29 | 0.08 |
| Deptford | 1J5 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 16 | 0.31 | 0.14 |
| Greenwich | 152 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 11 | 0.22 | 0.11 |
| Lewisham | 130 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 12 | 0.22 | 0.09 |
| Woolwich | 161 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 29 | 0.16 | 0.24 |
| London | 7,219 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 723 | 0.231 | 0.161 |
It will be seen from the foregoing table that in the period 1901-3 the diphtheria death-rate was
highest in Poplar (0 39), and lowest in Chelsea (0-11) and in the year 1904 was highest in Poplar
(0 50) and lowest in the City of Westminster (0.04). The diphtheria death-rate in London in each
of the four quarters of the year 1904 were as follows: first quarter, 018; second quarter, 014
third quarter, 0'13 ; and fourth quarter, 0-18 per 1,000 persons living.
To enable the variations in diphtheria prevalence in the several metropolitan boroughs to be more
clearly appreciated, the following table has been prepared. This table shows the comparative case-rates
of each borough in each of the years 1891-1904 inclusive, i.e., the case-rates of each borough are shown
in relation to the London case-rate of the same year, the London rates being taken as 100 —
| Sanitary area. | Comparative case rates (London case rates taken as 100). | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891. | 1892. | 1893. | 1894. | 1895. | 1896. | 1897. | 1898. | 1899. | 1900. | 1901. | 1902. | 1903. | 1904. | |
| Paddington | 104 | 77 | 73 | 117 | 74 | 66 | 91 | 98 | 68 | 44 | 89 | 65 | 59 | 63 |
| Kensington | 78 | 60 | 68 | 63 | 86 | 70 | 67 | 49 | 51 | 74 | 52 | 43 | 59 | 63 |
| Hammersmith | 195 | 164 | 87 | 72 | 77 | 67 | 49 | 58 | 58 | 85 | 74 | 70 | 82 | 106 |
| Fulham | 61 | 58 | 78 | 126 | 139 | 99 | 109 | 145 | 135 | 178 | 174 | 126 | 118 | 125 |
| Chelsea | 138 | 110 | 83 | 107 | 143 | 184 | 107 | 79 | 61 | 74 | 56 | 78 | 76 | 50 |
| Westminster, City of | 58 | 91 | 57 | 53 | 61 | 53 | 59 | 67 | 50 | 59 | 52 | 70 | 59 | 50 |
| St. Marylebone | 70 | 81 | 88 | 78 | 64 | 66 | 53 | 64 | 47 | 59 | 74 | 78 | 100 | 56 |
| Hampstead | 105 | 96 | 73 | 53 | 61 | 84 | 47 | 65 | 48 | 74 | 70 | 52 | 59 | 44 |
| St. Pancras | 89 | 95 | 103 | 83 | 90 | 64 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 93 | 148 | 152 | 129 | 94 |
| Islington | 152 | 119 | 86 | 103 | 70 | 106 | 73 | 60 | 68 | 70 | 100 | 113 | 82 | 63 |
| Stoke Newington | 83 | 113 | 97 | 77 | 70 | 70 | 52 | 59 | 34 | 111 | 104 | 83 | 47 | 75 |
| Hackney | 131 | 147 | 135 | 108 | 93 | 89 | 122 | 152 | 106 | 107 | 167 | 139 | 141 | 156 |
| Holborn | 52 | 89 | 79 | 61 | 66 | 61 | 104 | 102 | 46 | 70 | 104 | 87 | 53 | 50 |
1 See footnote (') page 7.