[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council] page 27

London County Council 1913

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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27
Report of the County. Medical Officer—General.
the Metropolitan Asylums Board, and the mortality rates among these cases have therefore great influence
in determining the rates as a whole. In the Board's report for 1913 the following statement occurs:
" It has been suggested that the decline in the mortality rate which followed the introduction of the
antitoxin serum treatment of diphtheria might largely be accounted for by the inclusion of numbers
of cases which were certified after the bacteriological test only. Therefore such cases have been shown
separately in Table 1. It is very satisfactory to find that, notwithstanding the exclusion of the bacteriological
cases from the above Table V., the death-rate, calculated on the admissions, for last year was 6*5,
the lowest on record, as compared with a rate of 30 per cent, before the introduction of antitoxin, and
it was 2*4 below the average rate for the preceding ten years." Reference to Table I. in the Board's
report shows that of the 5,475 cases admitted, only 399 are designated " Diphtheria (bacteriological)."
Obviously, this number does not represent the proportion of cases with very mild symptoms or no
symptoms at all, now notified, which would not have been notified twenty years ago. The method of
exclusion of cases recorded as "Diphtheria (bacteriological)" fails to take adequate account of the
pronounced alteration of view as regards diagnosis which has been brought about in recent years.
Curiously enough, although diphtheria is as a rule more fatal to males than to females, among
the cases under two years of age admitted to the fever hospitals in 1913, the mortality rate as shown in
the Board's Table V. was for males 13.5 per cent, whilst for females it was nearly 23 per cent.
To enable the variations in diphtheria prevalence in the several sanitary districts to be more
clearly appreciated, the following table has been prepared. This table shows the comparative case-rates
of each district in each of the years 1891-1913 inclusive, i.e., the case-rates of each district are shown
in relation to the London case-rate of the same year, the London rate being taken as 100.
Diphtheria
case rates,
London
boroughs.

Table: The figures f or the years 1901-9 diner irom those given in previous reports owing to the revision of the population estimates on the basis of the results of the 1911 census.

Download table as:

The figures f or the years 1901-9 diner irom those given in previous reports owing to the revision of the population estimates on the basis of the results of the 1911 census.

Metropolitan borough.	Diphtheria.—Comparative case-rate (London case-rate taken as 100).
	1891	1892	1893	1S94	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910	1911	1912	1913
	Paddington	104	77	73	117	74	66	91	98	68	44	88	65	61	63	47	72	61	59	87	69	73	114	126
Kensington	78	60	68	63	86	70	67	49	51	74	53	54	60	67	52	57	74	78	69	74	78	67	50
Hammersmith	195	164	87	72	77	67	49	58	58	85	75	68	85	111	146	134	94	97	108	112	99	91	66
Fulham	61	58	78	126	139	99	109	145	135	178	175	130	122	132	139	156	212	152	145	139	125	95	101
Chelsea	138	110	83	107	143	184	107	79	61	74	54	77	80	54	51	130	118	117\|	98	102	' 77	87	56
Westminster, Citv of	58	91	57	53	61	53	59	67	50	59	52	67	61	52	48	69	44	64	93	76	56	65	73
%/ St. Marylebone	70	81	88	78	64	66	53	64	47	59	73	76	103	58	72	63	53	55	63	88	70	82	67
%/ Hampstead	105	96	73	53	61	84	47	65	48	74	70	50	61	43	55	67	69	43	38	49	108	119	88
L St. Pancras	89	95	103	83	90	64	76	78	79	93	149	152	132	95	88	69	80	78	98	99	119	162	121
Islington	152	119	86	103	70	106	73	60	68	70	102	112	81	! 66	74	75	75	91	89	119	111	101	100
Stoke Newingtn	83	118	97	' 77	70	70	52	59	34	111	105	82	46	75	110	52	120	72	37	86	95	69	98
Hackney	131	147	135	108	93	89	122	152	106	107	167	139	145	163	122	99	127	99	81	70	86	72	87
Holborn	52	89	79	61	66	61	104	102	46	70	105	86	53	51	58	69	62	54	62	74	106	18	75
Finsbury	118	82	130	81	86	112	170	163	93	74	110	101	77	94	103	118	86	105	125	139	124	106	75
V London, City of	59	130	60	49	51	74	71	60	68	89	95	158	63	102	47	44	65	76	62	82	72	58	99
Shoreditch	124	89	131	95	80	97	103	80	103	111	103	84	77	101	110	71	101	105	112	96	96	80	100
Bethnal Green	154	230	181	168	143	114	144	100	89	115	133	105	110	206	165	110	116	122	97	117	96	109	103
Stepney	106	132	112	123	157	150	128	93	89	107	106	111	108	176	154	118	135	131	139	118	113	83	101
Poplar	191	148	214	159	179	133	141	105	83	141	137	118	149	252	207	85	113	109	88	88	107	100	127
South wark	71	72	116	113	1 86	106	102	151	207	141	101	111	102	88	106	114	110	78	89	121	94	95	102
Bermondsey	68	60	84	126	80	99	97	1 90	177	133	94	92	79	94	91	147	129	112	105	137	124	111	115
Lambeth	88	97	91	83	88	74	83	103	121	104	65	68	67	68	105	79	56	65	86	90	83	72	81
Battersea	144	123	132	122	97	81	125	178	116	70	59	74	109	85	80	92	110	123	116	111	81	88	102
Wandsworth	74	83	84	79	60	51	100	114	99	74	76	132	125	98	92	114	117	115	84	77	100	85	80
Camberwell	69	65	67	112	140	180	154	102	156	130	125	113	82	65	66	77	80	86	97	86	82	77	91
Deptford	72	68	86	153	225	113	141	132	121	111	144	103	243	111	94	156	150	107	121	98	92	98	132
Greenwich	60	43	84	85	137	189	82	105	122	89	73	81	127	100	107	240	138	132	115	144	203	168	164
Lewisham	48	74	82	70	57	122	85	127	170	126	87	129	121	59	77	101	105	176	170	117	130	168	151
Woolwich	32	68	66	66	81	96	91	86	100	115	69	91	91	85	161	182	120	173	150	117	119	22!	194
London	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Table: Cases notified as diphtheria and admitted into the hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board but in which the diagnosis was not subsequently confirmed, constituted the following percentage of total cases admitted in successive years:—

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Cases notified as diphtheria and admitted into the hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board but in which the diagnosis was not subsequently confirmed, constituted the following percentage of total cases admitted in successive years:—

Year.	Percentage.	Year.	Percentage.
1901	12.8	1908	18.1
1902	13.5	1909	16.8
1903	14.7	1910	14.2
1904	16.1	1911	13.5
1905	18.0	1912	13.8
1906	15.5	1913	16.6
1907	17.0

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Diphtheria
—diagnosis
not confirmed.
23610
E 2

London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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London County Council 1913

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Table: The figures f or the years 1901-9 diner irom those given in previous reports owing to the revision of the population estimates on the basis of the results of the 1911 census.

Table: Cases notified as diphtheria and admitted into the hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board but in which the diagnosis was not subsequently confirmed, constituted the following percentage of total cases admitted in successive years:—

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