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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20
Of the 20 deaths in 1907, 17 were of children under five years of age, the
mortality being at the rate of 15.6 per cent. of the cases certified amongst children
belonging to that age period (18.2 per cent. allowing for cases not regarded as
diphtheria at the hospitals), as compared with 16 per cent. in 1906, 14.7 in 1905,
16.3 in 1904, 23.8 in 1903', 20.5 in 1902, 15.4 in 1901, 22.7 in 1900, 34.2 in 1899,
29.5 in 1898, 36.0 in 1897, 31.8 in 1896, 47.5 in 1895, 43.0 in 1894, and 61.0 in 1893.
These figures show the great reduction in the mortality per cent, of the cases certified
in the Borough which has taken place during recent years.
The case mortality amongst persons over five years of age amounted to just
under 3 per cent, of the cases certified, but, deducting the cases not regarded as
diphtheria, the mortality was 4.3 per cent. The whole of the deaths from diphtheria
were of children under the age of 10 years. As in the case of scarlet fever, diphtheria
is most fatal in early life.
The usual enquiries were made as to the circumstances attending the occurrence of diphtheria in the Borough. With respect to
| Age Period. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | |||
| From 1 to 2 years | |||
| ,, 2 ,,3 ,, | |||
| 5 ,, 10 „ | |||
| Total |
In 78 of the cases the patients were children attending school, and in 60 of these
they were at school within a week of being certified to* have the disease. In several
instances the histories obtained leave no doubt that the children were at school and
mixing with their fellow school children whilst actually suffering from diphtheria
before the nature of their disorder was recognised. In 82 other cases, although the
patients themselves were not school-going children, there were other children in the
houses who were. In 20 instances the histories, showed that there had been cases of
" sore throat" amongst the inmates of the houses in which patients resided, and in
22 instances evidence was forthcoming pointing to infection from previous cases in
the Borough. In 122 instances, the houses were occupied by members of more than
one family, in 38 by single families, and in 10 instances the cases were in artizans'
dwellings of the block type. With regard to the sanitary condition of the dwellings,