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
Shoreditch 1907
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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16
The percentage of return cases in respect to the cases removed was 1.9, as
compared with 1.5 for last year. It will be noticed that in 13 of the 17 instances
lesions of one sort or another were observed, the commonest being a discharge from
the nose.
SMALL POX.
Early in the year a case of illness was certified as small pox, but the patient
proved to be suffering from a skin affection known as erythema multiforme. Later
in the year a second case was brought to my notice as being possibly one of small pox.
It was not certified, and proved also to be one of erythema multiforme. There were
only three or four cases certified as small pox in the whole of the Metropolis,
including the one in Shoreditch. No deaths were registered as due to this disease.
VACCINATION.
The latest official figures as to vaccination in the Borough are those published
in the last report of the Medical Officer of the Local Government Board for the
year 1905-6. They relate to the year 1904. It appears that of the children born
in Shoreditch during that year 34.2 per cent, were not finally accounted for as
regards vaccination. The cases in which vaccination was postponed are included in
calculating this percentage. Certificates of conscientious objection were received by
the vaccination authority in respect to 21 children, or 0.5 per cent, of the births for
the year, as compared with 0.6 in 1903 and 0.3 in 1902.
In the following table are contained the percentages of children born not finally accounted for as regards vaccination, including postponed cases, each year from 1890 to 1904 for Shoreditch, the Metropolis, and the rest of England: —
| Year. | Shoreditch. | Metropolis. | Rest of England. | Year. | Shoreditch. | Metropolis. | Rest of England. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891 | 8.8 | 16.4 | 12.9 | 1898 | 68.4 | 33.0 | 19.6 |
| 1892 | 10.8 | 18.4 | 14.3 | 1899 | 54.2 | 27.7 | 15.4 |
| 1893 | 16.2 | 18.2 | 15.7 | 1900 | 52.8 | 25.8 | 13.9 |
| 1894 | 33.9 | 20.6 | 19.0 | 1901 | 44.4 | 24.1 | 11.2 |
| 1895 | 47.5 | 24.9 | 19.8 | 1902 | 36.1 | 21.3 | 10.0 |
| 1896 | 55.5 | 26.4 | 22.3 | 1903 | 36.0 | 20.7 | 9.1 |
| 1897 | 67.4 | 29.1 | 21.6 | 1904 | 34.2 | 19.1 | 8.7 |
The above figures indicate that during the years 1904 to 1899 there has
been a distinct improvement as regards the state of vaccination in the Borough, and
an improvement in this respect appears to have been general throughout the country.