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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| Towns. | 1894-1903. | 1904. | Towns. | 1894-1903. | 1904. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.431 | 0.331½ | Bradford | 0.30 | 0.17 |
| Liverpool | 0.52 | 0.58 | West Ham | 0.48 | 0.35 |
| Manchester | 0.50 | 0.50 | Hull | 0.35 | 0.26 |
| Birmingham | 0.45 | 0.85 | Nottingham | 0.34 | 0.36 |
| Leeds | 0.37 | 0.47 | Salford | 0.60 | 0.62 |
| Sheffield | 0.43 | 0.34 | Newcastle | 0.45 | 0.58 |
| Bristol | 0.38 | 0.34 | Leicester | 0.28 | 0.39 |
The following table shows that the London whooping-cough death-rate was in the decennium
1894-1903 considerably higher than that of any of the undermentioned foreign towns, and in the year
1904 exceeded that of all of these towns except Copenhagen—
| Towns. | 1891-1903. | 1904. | Towns. | 1894-1903. | 1904. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.341 | 0.331 | St. Petersburg | 0.23 | 0.19 |
| Paris | 0.13 | 0.12 | Berlin | 0.28 | 0.24 |
| Brussels | 0.13 | 0.12 | Vienna | o.10 | 0.05 |
| Amsterdam | 0.25 | 0.32 | Rome | 0.07 | 0.06 |
| Copenhagen | 0.31 | 0.52 | New York | 0.16 | 0.06 |
| Stockholm | 0.19 | 0.16 |
The following table shows the whooping-cough deaths and death-rates for the year 1904 and the death-rates for the period 1901-3 in the several metropolitan sanitary districts :—
| Sanitary area. | Deaths, 1904. | Death rate per 1,000 persons living. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901-3. | 1904. | ||
| Paddington | 16 | 0.30 | 0.1l |
| Kensington | 19 | 0.33 | 0.1l |
| Hammersmith | 36 | 0.40 | 0.31 |
| Fulham | 58 | 0.44 | 0.38 |
| Chelsea | 26 | 0.32 | 0.35 |
| Westminster, City of | 18 | 0.21 | 0.10 |
| St. Marylebone | 13 | 0.30 | 0.10 |
| Hampstead | 8 | 0.20 | 0.09 |
| St. Pancras.. | 82 | 0.41 | 0.35 |
| Islington | 84 | 0.39 | 0.25 |
| Stoke Newington | 12 | 0.25 | 0.23 |
| Hackney | 55 | 0.31 | 0.24 |
| Holborn | 9 | 0.31 | 0.16 |
| Finsbury | 28 | 0.55 | 0.28 |
| London, City of | 7 | 0.13 | 0.30 |
| Shoreditch | 63 | 0.51 | 0.54 |
| Bethnal Green | 52 | 0.43 | 0.40 |
| Stepney | 126 | 0.45 | 0.42 |
| Poplar | 81 | 0.51 | 0.48 |
| Southwark | 118 | 0.45 | 0.57 |
| Bermondsey | 69 | 0.43 | 0.53 |
| Lambeth | 109 | 0.39 | 0.35 |
| Battersea | 59 | 0.44 | 0.34 |
| Wandsworth | 50 | 0.30 | 0.19 |
| Camberwell | 99 | 0.33 | 0.37 |
| Deptford | 49 | 0.40 | 0.43 |
| Greenwich | 56 | 0.33 | 0.55 |
| Lewisham | 37 | 0.25 | 026 |
| Woolwich | 56 | 0.27 | 0.45 |
| Port of London | — | — | — |
| London | 1,495 | 0.372 | 0.322 |
It will be seen from the foregoing table that in the period 1901-3 the whooping-cough death-rate
was highest in Finsbury (0.55), and lowest in the City of London (0.13); in the year 1904 the highest rate
1 See footnote (2) page 7.
2 See footnote (1) page 7.