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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47
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Diarrhoea.
The deaths (a) within the Administrative County of London during 1910 (52 weeks) attributed to
epidemic diarrhœa and infective enteritis numbered 642, while 771 deaths were attributed to diarrhoea
and dysentery. The corresponding figures for 1909 (52 weeks) were 794 and 832 respectively.
The age-distribution of such of these deaths as belonged to London was, in 1910, as follows:—
| Disease. | Under 1 year. | 1-5. | 5-20. | 20-40. | 40-60. | 60-80. | 80 and upwards | All ages. |
| Epidemic diarrhoea, infective enteritis | 1 438 | 153 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 5 | - | 626 |
| Diarrhoea and dysentery | 488 | 127 | 4 | 28 | 39 | 40 | 16 | 742 |
| Total | 926 | 280 | 15 | 36 | --——- 50 | 45 | 16 | 1,368 | |
No accurate comparison can be made of the deaths from epidemic diarrhoea for a long series
of years in London,owing to changes made in methods of classification; diagram (U),however, shows
the death-rate from cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea combined, in each year since 1840 in relation
to the mean death-rate of the period 1841-1910.
The following table shows that the London diarrhoea death-rate was in the quinquennium 1905-9 lower than the death-rate of any of the undermentioned large English towns, except Bristol, Bradford and Newcastle-on-Tyne, and in 1910 was lower than that of any except Bristol.
| Town. | 1905-9. | 1910. | Town. | 1905-9. | 1910. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0.596 | 0.306 | West Ham | 1.25 | 0.44 |
| Greater London | 0.58 | 0.26 | Bradford | 0.49 | 0.34 |
| Liverpool | 1.09 | 0.73 | Newcastle-on-Tyne | 0.50 | 0.39 |
| Manchester | 0.91 | 0.50 | Hull | 1.04 | 0.94 |
| Birmingham | 0.86 | 0.42 | Nottingham | 0.86 | 0.36 |
| Leeds | 0.64 | 0.43 | Salford | 0.94 | 0.56 |
| Sheffield | 1.16 | 0.71 | Leicester | 0.70 | 0.31 |
| Bristol | 0.38 | 0.21 |
Diarrhoea
death-rates
in large
English
towns.
The deaths and death-rates from diarrhoea for the year 1910, and the death-rates for the period 1905-9 in each of the sanitary districts of London, are shown in the following tabl:—
| Metropolitan borough. | Deaths, 1910 (52 weeks). | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1905-9. | 1910. | ||
| Paddington | 43 | 0.46 | 0.30 |
| Kensington | 34 | 0.47 | 0.20 |
| Hammersmith | 41 | 0.59 | 0.34 |
| Fulham | 56 | 1.00 | 0.37 |
| Chelsea | 12 | 0.47 | 0.18 |
| Westminster, City of .. | 19 | 0.26 | 0.12 |
| St. Marylebone | 22 | 0.36 | 0.18 |
| Hampstead | 8 | 0.14 | 0.09 |
| St. Pancras | 52 | 0.42 | 0.24 |
| Islington | 78 | 0.40 | 0.24 |
| Stoke Newington | 8 | 0.34 | 0.16 |
| Hackney | 52 | 0.68 | 0.23 |
| Holborn | 10 | 0.40 | 0.20 |
| Finsbury | 50 | 0.88 | 0.56 |
| London, City of | 3 | 0.16 | 0.15 |
| Shoreditch | 61 | 1.06 | 0.55 |
| Bethnal Green | 51 | 0.83 | 0.40 |
| Stepney | 141 | 0.93 | 0.50 |
| Poplar | 87 | 1.02 | 0.53 |
| Southwark | 90 | 0.82 | 0.47 |
| Bermondsey | 85 | 0.83 | 0.67 |
| Lambeth | 80 | 0.55 | 0.27 |
| Battersea | 57 | 0.55 | 0.34 |
| Wandsworth | 39 | 0.43 | 0.13 |
| Camberwell | 61 | 0.51 | 0.23 |
| Deptford | 50 | 0.64 | 0.46 |
| Greenwich | 37 | 0.58 | 0.39 |
| Lewisham | 24 | 0.40 | 0.15 |
| Woolwich | 17 | 0.45 | 0.14 |
| London | 1,368 | 0.59 | 0.30 |