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
Edmonton 1921
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Edmonton]
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10
Inquests were held on 55 deaths—three less than last year.
Zymotic Death-rate.—This is furnished by the number of deaths
occurring from the seven diseases, smallpox, enteric fever, measles, scarlet
fever, diphtheria, whooping cough at all ages, and diarrhcea (enteritis) under
the age of 2. The total is 57, and gives the figure .84.
It is an old-fashioned term, and really ought to embrace nearly half the
complaints mentioned as the causes of death. It is synomymous with disease
due to germs, and being preventable, has been regarded as an index of the
healthiness or otherwise of a district.
Infantile Mortality.—The number of children dying under the age of
one year was 116; based on 1,665 births; this gives an infantile mortality
figure of 69.6. The deaths of legitimate babies were 104; based on 1,597
legitimate births, gives 65 as the infantile mortality. Of the 68 illegitimate
births, 12 died, giving a rate of 176.5.
Comparative Statistics.—The Registrar General has forwarded provisional figures regarding England and Wales, etc., and I am thus enabled to show the following comparative tables:—
| Annual Death-rate per 1000 Population. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Causes | Enteric Fever | Measles | Scarlet Fever | Whoop-ingC'h. | Diphtheria | In-fluenza | Vi'lnce | |
| England and Wales | 12.1 | .02 | .06 | .03 | .12 | .12 | .23 | .44 |
| 96 Great Towns | 12.3 | .01 | .08 | .04 | .13 | .15 | .23 | .40 |
| 148 Smaller Towns | 11.3 | .01 | .05 | .03 | .11 | .11 | .26 | .35 |
| London | 12.4 | .01 | .05 | .06 | .12 | .25 | .23 | .42 |
| Edmonton | 10.1 | .01 | .00 | .03 | .08 | .48 | .13 | .40 |
| Birth-rate Population per 1,000 | Rate per 1,000 Births— | |||||||
| Diarrhoea and Enteritis. (under 2 years) | Total Deaths under 1 year. | |||||||
| England and Wales | 22.4 | 15.5 | 83 | |||||
| 96 Great Towns | 23.3 | 19.3 | 87 | |||||
| 148 Smaller Towns | 22.7 | 15.6 | 84 | |||||
| London | 22.3 | 21.3 | 80 | |||||
| Edmonton | 24.5 | 10.2 | 70 | |||||
It will be noticed that the death-rate from diphtheria was high, being
nearly double that given for London and four times as high as that for England
and Wales. On the other hand there were no deaths due to measles, and only
five due to whooping cough.