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 1906
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
In the annual reports relating to Paddington and Westminster the number of instances in which multiple cases occurred in houses is stated thus—
| Paddington, | Westminster, | |
|---|---|---|
| total cases 717. | total cases 537. | |
| Houses with two cases | 77 | 43 |
| „ three „ | 23 | 7 |
| „ four „ | 7 | 11 |
| „ five „ | 4 | — |
The number of "return cases" is shown in some of the reports thus—in Fulham, 12 ; Chelsea,
1; Westminster, 1 or 2 ; Holborn, 6; Finsbury, 8; Shoreditch, 14; Bermondsey, 10; Battersea,
34, Woolwich, 13. In connection with the treatment of cases of scarlet fever at home, Dr Davies
states that in 117 cases so treated in Woolwich subsequent cases occurred in the same house in 12
instances, the secondary cases numbering 15.
Proportion of cases of scarlet fever removed to hospital.
It will be seen from diagram IX that the proportion of cases of scarlet fever admitted to the
hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board was greater in 1906 than in any preceding year.
Diphtheria.
The cases of diphtheria (including membranous croup) notified in the Administrative County of
London in 1906 (52 weeks) numbered 8,045, compared with 6,482 in 1905. The number of deaths
registered from this cause was 691 in 1906 (52 weeks), compared with 546 in 1905.
The diphtheria case-rates, death-rates, and case-mortality in 1906, 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 | -1 | -1 |
| 1871-80 | 0.12 | -l | -1 |
| 1881-90 | 0.26 | -1 | -1 |
| 1891-1900 | 0.492 | 2.6 | 19.0 |
| 1901 | 0.292 | 2.7 | 10.9 |
| 1902 | 0.252 | 2.3 | 10.8 |
| 1903 | 0.162 | 1.7 | 9.6 |
| 1904 | 0.162 | 1.6 | 10.0 |
| 1905 | 0.122 | 1.4 | 8.4 |
| 1906 | 0.152 | 1.7 | 8.6 |
The death-rate in each year since 1858 in relation to the mean death-rate of the period 18591906
is shown for diphtheria and also for diphtheria and croup combined in diagram XI.—
The monthly case-rate and case-mortality in each of the years 1891-1906 in relation to the mean
of the period is shown in diagram XIII.
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 1896-1905 the London rate exceeded the rates of all these
towns except Leeds, Sheffield, West Ham, Salford and Leicester, while in 1906 it was lower than the
rates of any except Leicester.
| Town. | 1896-1905. | 1906. | Town. | 1896-1905. | 1906. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham | 0.50 | 0.29 | |||
| Liverpool | 0.25 | 0.20 | Bradford | 0.19 | 0.21 |
| Manchester | 0.18 | 0.19 | Newcastle on-Tyne | 0.16 | 0.24 |
| Birmingham | 0.26 | 0.18 | Hull | 0.20 | 0.52 |
| Leeds | 0.32 | 0.18 | Nottingham | 0.15 | 0.16 |
| Sheffield | 0.43 | 0.19 | Salford | 0.35 | 0.39 |
| Bristol | 0.26 | 0.21 | Leicester | 0.48 | 0.13 |
The following table shows that the London diphtheria death-rate was in the decennium 1896-1905
higher than that of any of the undermentioned foreign towns, except Stockholm, St. Petersburg, and
New York, and in 1906 was exceeded by the rates of St. Petersburg, Berlin, Vienna, and New
York :—
1 The Infectious Disease (Notification) Act came into force in 1889.
- See footnote (2) page 7.
3 See footnote (1) page 8.
14911
E