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 1906
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Age-period. | 0— | 1— | 2— | 3 — | 4— | Under 5 | 0— | 10— | 15 and upwards. | All ages. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holborn | 9 | 12 | – | 3 | 1 | 25 | 1 | – | 26 | |
| Finsbury | 21 | 57 | 19 | 13 | 5 | 115 | 5 | 1 | – | 121 |
| London, City of | – | 3 | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Shoreditch | 12 | 35 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 73 | – | – | – | 73 |
| Bethnal Green | 14 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 59 | – | – | – | 59 |
| Stepney | 43 | 84 | 34 | 11 | 6 | 178 | 3 | – | – | 181 |
| Poplar | 28 | 45 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 102 | 7 | – | – | 109 |
| Southwark | 22 | 45 | 22 | 5 | – | 94 | 1 | – | – | 95 |
| Bermondsey | 10 | 47 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 94 | 2 | – | – | 96 |
| Lambeth | 19 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 73 | 4 | – | – | 77 |
| Battersea | 11 | 23 | 11 | – | 1 | 46 | – | – | – | 46 |
| Wandsworth | 15 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 59 | 3 | – | 1 | 63 |
| Camberwell | 27 | 49 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 106 | 4 | – | – | 110 |
| Deptford | 13 | 27 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 68 | 3 | – | – | 71 |
| Greenwich | 5 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 4 | – | – | 30 |
| Lewisham | 8 | 9 | – | 2 | 2 | 21 | – | – | – | 21 |
| Woolwich | 7 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 3 | – | – | 32 |
| London | 433 | 843 | 309 | 158 | 100 | 1,843 | 69 | 3 | 4 | 1,919 |
Information as to the occurrence of cases of measles is in the main derived by medical officers
of health from school teachers, and in more than one report it is stated that this information is being
more completely supplied than formerly. This source of information is necessarily closed during the
holidays.
The numbers of cases which become known to the medical officers of health is shown in most
of the reports, and the following figures are thus supplied:–
| Sanitary area. | No. of cases of measles. 1906. | Sanitary area. | No. of cases of measles. 1906. | Sanitary area. | No. of cases of measles. 1906. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 592 | Hackney | 1,101 | Lambeth | 1,581 |
| Kensington | 853 | Holborn | 370 | Battersea | 882 |
| Hammersmith | 627 | Finsbury | 1,036 | Wandsworth | 1,453 |
| Fulham | 496 | Shoreditch | 449 | Deptford | 1,007 |
| Chelsea | 225 | Bethnal Green | 591 | Greenwich | 482 |
| Westminster | 362 | Poplar | 892 | Lewisham | 349 |
| Hampstead | 333 | Bermondsey | 685 | Wollwich | 825 |
| Islington | 1,935 |
In a few reports the value of disinfection after measles is discussed, and Dr. Brown, the medical
officer of health of Bermondsey, states that, as the result of a circular letter he addressed to medical
officers of health, he found that only in thirteen boroughs was disinfection carried out on a large scale.
In reply to questions as to the value of disinfection in seventeen instances, there was either no opinion
expressed on this point, or various reasons were given for thinking that it was not of much service. In eight
instances opinion was in its favour, but in five of these the opinion was qualified by the word "educationally."
The question of hospital provision is mentioned in a few reports, and the wish has been expressed
that the Metropolitan Asylums Board should receive cases of this disease. It is not probable
that this proposal would receive any large acceptance as a practical measure for limiting the spread of
the disease.
The question of the reduction in fatality which might result from the better nursing of children
suffering from measles is also discussed. Dr. Davies endeavoured to secure for this purpose in Woolwich
the assistance of the District Nursing Association, but their staff was insufficient for the purpose, and he
writes that " many lives would doubtless be saved if all cases of measles which were seriously ill could have
skilled nursing, but the Borough Council has power neither to provide such nursing nor even to contribute
to the Nursing Association and help them to provide it." In this connection, the question may
be considered whether the " medical assistance," in section 77 of the Public Health (London) Act,
which a sanitary authority, with the consent of the Local Government Board, may provide for the
poorer inhabitants of their district, includes the assistance of a sick nurse. Such assistance would be
especially valuable in cases where lung complications arise. This is an especially frequent cause of mortality
in cases of measles, amounting, as Dr. Newman shows for Finsbury, to 85 per cent. of the cases in which
death occurred.
Reference has in former reports been made to observations in Woolwich as to the value of the
immediate closing of classes on the appearance of measles, for which purpose the Borough was divided
into two nearly equal districts, in one of which closure of classes in infant schools was resorted to