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 1910
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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28
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1910
Smallpox
death-rates
in foreign
towns.
The following table shows that of the undermentioned towns, St. Petersburg is the only one which has had an appreciable death-rate from smallpox during the last six years.
| Town. | 1905-9. | 1910. | Town. | 1905-9. | 1910. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.00a | - | St. Petersburg | 0.09 | 0.22 |
| Paris | 0.01 | 0.01 | Berlin | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Brussels | 0.00 | - | Vienna | 0.00 | - |
| Amsterdam | - | - | Rome | 0.00 | - |
| Copenhagen | - | - | New York | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Stockholm | - | - |
In this table 0.00 indicates that the deaths were too few to give a rate of 0.005; where no death occurred — is
inserted.
The actual cases of smallpox which occurred during the year were:—
January.—C.S., aged 26 years, a male, removed from Victor-road, Islington, on January
6th. This man was mentioned in the last Annual Report as one of a group of cases, the first
of which was infected in Dantzig.
T.M., aged 56 years, a male, a casual dock labourer, removed on January 3rd
from Aberfeldy-road, Poplar. The source of infection was unknown, but the patient had been
working on board a vessel from Russia, in some of the ports of which smallpox was pre\alent.
This case was also mentioned in the last Annual Report.
June.—S.G., a female infant, aged six months, was removed on June 19th from the
Charing Cross Hospital. The child had arrived the same day with her mother from
Tientsin, China, which they left on June 7th, travelling by the Trans-Siberian Railway to Dover
and London via Ostend. The child's father was suffering from smallpox when they left Tientsin,
and the child became ill at Moscow.
J.C., a male, aged 42 years, employed at a drug-grinders, removed on June 20th
from Clarissa-street, Haggerston. The source of infection was not known.
July.—R.C., a female, aged 35 years, wife of the above J.C., removed from the same
house in Clarissa-street on July 3rd.
W.S., a man, aged 55 years, the deputy of a common lodging-house in Warren-lane,
Woolwich, on July 4th. The source of infection was unknown.
Vaccination
returns.
The following table shows the proportion of children born in each year who were not finally accounted for in respect of vaccination.
| Year | Children not finally accounted for (including cases postponed) per cent. of total births. | Year. | Children not finally accounted for (including cases post-poned) per cent. of total births. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1872 | 1891 | 16.4 | |
| 1873 | 87 | 1892 | 18.4 |
| 1874 | 8.8 | 1893 | 18.2 |
| 1875 | 9.3 | 1894 | 20.6 |
| 1876 | 6.5 | 1895 | 24.9 |
| 1877 | 7.1 | 1896 | 26.4 |
| 1878 | 7.1 | 1897 | 29.1 |
| 1879 | 7.8 | 1898 | 33.0 |
| 1880 | 7.0 | 1899 | 27.7 |
| 1881 | 5.7 | 1900 | 25.8 |
| 1882 | 6.6 | 1901 | 24.1 |
| 1883 | 6.5 | 1902 | 21.3 |
| 1884 | 6.8 | 1903 | 20.7 |
| 1885 | 7.0 | 1904 | 19.1 |
| 1886 | 7.8 | 1905 | 18.9 |
| 1887 | 9.0 | 1906 | 21.2 |
| 1888 | 10.3 | 1907 | 22.7 |
| 1889 | 11.6 | 1908 | 21.5 |
| 1890 | 13.9 | 1909 | 20.6 |
The percentage of children born who were exempted by "conscientious objection" certificates
since and including 1898 has been as follows:—1898, 1.4; 1899, 1.0; 1900, 1.0; 1901, 1.1; 1902,
0.8; 1903, 1.0; 1904, 1.1; 1905, 1.2; 1906, 1.5; 1907, 3.1; 1908, 7.3; 1909, 10.1.
(a) See footnote (c), page 8.