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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
Acton 1921
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Acton]
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1921
8
following table gives the mean maximum temperature and the infantile deaths in the two years:—
| Weeks ending. | Mean Max. Temp. | Rainfall (inches.) | Deaths from Diarrhoea in Acton. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911. | 1921. | 1911. | 1921. | 1911. | 1921. | |
| July 9th | 65.0 | 78.1 | Nil | .3 | Nil | Nil |
| „ 10th | 65.2 | 85. | Nil | Nil | 1 | Nil |
| „ 23rd | 69.5 | 80. | Nil | .2 | 1 | Nil |
| „ 30th | 71. | 79.1 | .26 | .1 | 3 | Nil |
| Aug. 6th | 68. | 75. | .06 | .5 | 6 | 2 |
| „ 13th | 72.5 | 75.4 | Nil | .4 | 4 | 5 |
| „ 20th | 69.4 | 75.7 | .58 | .9 | 14 | Nil |
| „ 27th | 63.9 | 72.3 | .29 | .1 | 14 | Nil |
| Sept. 3rd | 65.3 | 73.1 | .41 | Nil | 11 | 2 |
| „ 10th | 66.9 | 71.0 | .01 | .01 | 10 | 1 |
| „ 17th | 60.3 | 59.1 | .41 | 1.81 | 6 | Nil |
| „ 24th | 54.3 | 60.8 | .48 | .00 | 2 | 1 |
In London, a slight increase in the mortality rate amongst
children under two was noted in the first week in July, and this
steadily increased until the first week in September, when it reached
198 per 1,000 births. In Acton, we had no deaths from Summer
Diarrhoea in July, and the number of fatal cases was very few,
compared with the number which formerly occurred in hot
summers.
In recent years, it is customary to state that it is unfair
to compare the infantile mortality with that of former years, as we
have experienced a series of cold wet summers. But the comparson
with 1911 is a perfectly fair one. The summer of 1921 was a
particularly favourable one for the development of Summer Diarrhoea.
As long ago as 1887, Ballard drew attention to the apparent
connection between the 4 ft. earth temperature and the incidence
of Epidemic Diarrhoea. He gave 56° F. as the critical index
which seems to mark some climax in those conditions which bear
on the aetiology of Summer Diarrhoea.
In 1921, the temperature of the earth 4 feet below the surface
reached 56°' F. on July 8th; each week following the earth temperature
rose, and in the last week in July it exceeded 59°. F. The mean
temperature was maintained above 59° F. throughout August
and the early part of September, and did not fall below 56° F.
until October.
No one has yet explained what are the changed circumstances
which initiate an epidemic enteritis. Whether Summer