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

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Marylebone 1905

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]

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12
was small. The curve opposite page 21 traces the notifications
graphically, and may be compared with the mean five-year curve.
The curve shows clearly that so far as seasonal influences affect
the spread of the malady, scarlet fever followed quite a normal
course during 1905.
DIPHTHERIA.
123 cases were notified, and of these 5 died, equal to a case
fatality of 4 %. This is a low fatality, showing that as a rule
either the cases were milder than usual or the antitoxin treatment
has appreciably reduced the danger of this serious malady.
The case fatality in 1903 was 13 % ; in 1904, 107 %.
A fair number of the notifications were confirmed by
bacteriological investigation. The number of specimens sent
through this department to the Jenner Institute was 42; of
these 14 showed the presence of the diphtheria bacillus; in the
remainder the bacillus was absent, and, therefore, no certificate
of diphtheria received. It must not be understood that the
above were the only cases diagnosed bacteriologically, a considerable
number are examined and sent for examination by the
medical attendant to other institutions or laboratories.
ENTERIC OR TYPHOID FEVER.
There were only 44 cases, and the probable causes lay, so
far as could be ascertained, outside the Borough. The cases
seem to have been of a mild type, for there were only 6 deaths,
equal to a case fatality of 13.5%.
DEATH RATES IN THE ST. MARYLEBONE
ARTISANS' DWELLINGS.
So large a population of workers live in Artisans' Dwellings
that it is of some importance to know whether the death-rate
fives anv indication of their healthiness or otherwise.

The population of the various dwellings enumerated below has been carefully ascertained. Divided into adults and children (below 12) and arranged in order of population the enumeration comes out thus:–

Children.Adults.Total.
Wharncliffe Gardens9811,0722,053
Portman Buildings4725541,026
Miles Buildings272484756
East Street Buildings219484703
Nightingale Street Buildings193364557
Carried forward2,1372,1585,095