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 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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21
Report of the County Medical Officer—General.
During the complete years in which the notification of infectious diseases has been obligatory, the number of cases of smallpox (uncorrected for errors in diagnosis) notified to the medical officers of health in the various sanitary districts comprised in the Administrative County has been as follows:—
| Year. | Cases of smallpox notified. | Case-rate per 1,000 persons living. |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 60 | 0.014 |
| 1891 | 114 | 0.027 |
| 1892 | 425 | 0.100 |
| 1893 | 2,815 | 0.653 |
| 1894 | 1,193 | 0.274 |
| 1895 | 980 | 0.223 |
| 1896 | 225 | 0.050 |
| 1897 | 104 | 0.023 |
| 1898 | 33 | 0.007 |
| 1899 | 29 | 0.006 |
| 1900 | 86 | 0.019 |
| 1901 | 1,700 | 0.375 |
| 1902 | 7,796 | 1.683 |
| 1903 | 416 | 0.091 |
| 1904 | 489 | 0.107 |
| 1905 | 74 | 0.016 |
| 1906 | 31 | |
| 1907 | 8 | 0.002 |
| 1908 | 4 | 0.001 |
| 1909 | 21 | 0.005 |
| 1910 | 7 | 0.002 |
| 1911 | 72 | 0.016 |
| 1912 | 6 | 0.001 |
Smallpox—
notified
cases and
case rates,
1890-1912.
It will be seen from the following table that in the quinquennium
| Town. | 1907-11. | 1912. | Town. | 1907-11. | 1912. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | - | - | |||
| Greater London | 0.00 | Hull | — | ||
| Liverpool | — | — | Newcastle-on-Tyne | — | |
| Manchester | — | 0.00 | Nottingham | — | |
| Birmingham | — | Stoke-on-Trent | — | — | |
| Sheffield | — | Portsmouth | — | — | |
| Leed | — | — | Salford | — | - |
| Bristol | Leicester | — | — | ||
| West Ham | — | — |
Smallpox
death-rates
in large
English
towns.
The following table shows that of the undermentioned towns, Paris and St. Petersburg are the only towns which had an appreciable death-rate from smallpox during the last six years:—
| Town. • | 1907-11. | 1912. | Town. | 1907-11. | 1912. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stockholm | - | - | ||||
| 0.00 | St. Petersburg | 0.13 | 0.06 | |||
| — | Berlin | |||||
| — | — | Vienna | — | — | ||
| — | — | New York | 0.00 | |||
Smallpox
death-rates
in foreign
towns
Of the six cases notified in London, four proved to be true small-pox, in the other two cases the
diagnosis was not confirmed. The details of the true cases are as follows:—
(1) J. A., aged 52 years, residing in Woolwich, was a winchman on s.s. "Delhi," wrecked
on 14th December, 1911. He was at Tangier on 26th and 27th December, where probably he
was infected. He was notified on 15th January, 1912, and died the same night at South Wharf
receiving station. This was the only fatal case.
(2) M. A. D., aged 40. A lodger in the same house as J. A. Rash appeared 29th January,
1912. Patient removed to hospital the following day.
(3) F. D., aged 41. Husband of Case No. 2. Rash appeared 1st February, 1912.
Removed to hospital the same day. Both these patients were unprotected by vaccination, but
both were very mild cases with no symptoms but the rash.
Smallpox
in London.
(a) See footnote (c) page 4.