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 1924
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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In the subjoined table the causes of death amongst infants under one year are |iven for each of the eight Wards of the Borough :—
| Cause of Death. | Moorfields Ward. | Church Ward. | Hoxton Ward. | Wenlock Ward. | Whitmore Ward. | Kingsland Ward. | Haggerston Ward. | Acton Ward. | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallpox ... | |||||||||
| Chicken-pox | |||||||||
| Measles | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 13 | ||||
| Scarlet Fever _ ... | |||||||||
| Whooping Cough ... | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | |
| Diphtheria and Croup | 1 | l | 2 | ||||||
| Erysipelas ... | |||||||||
| Tuberculous Meningitis ... | 1 | l | 2 | ||||||
| Abdominal Tuberculosis ... | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Other Tuberculous Diseases | |||||||||
| Meningitis (not Tuberculous) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Convulsions | 1 | 1 | 1 | l | 1 | 5 | |||
| Laryngitis...... | |||||||||
| Bronchitis ... | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
| Pneumonia (all forms) | 4 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 54 |
| Diarrhoea ... | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Enteritis | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | ||
| Gastritis | ... | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Syphilis ......... | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||||
| Rickets | |||||||||
| Suffocation, over-lying | l | 1 | |||||||
| Injury at Birth ...... | |||||||||
| Atelectasis ... | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Congenital Malformations | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |||
| Premature Birth ... | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 35 |
| Atrophy, Debility and Marasmus | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | I | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| Other causes | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Totals...... | 12 | 37 ! | 39 | 27 | 45 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 221 |
The infantile mortalities of the eight wards of the Borough are given in Table
VI. (Appendix). The rate was highest in Moorfields and lowest in Acton, 115 and
per 1,000 births respectively. The infantile mortality for England and Wales
was at the rate of 75, and for London 69 per 1,000 births.
The deaths of children between the ages of one and two years numbered 117,
the chief causes being measles and diseases of the respiratory organs. Between
the ages of two and five years 72 deaths occurred, measles, diphtheria, whooping
cough, diseases of the respiratory organs and violence by accident or negligence
being the main causes. Altogether 410 or 28.4 per cent. of the total number of deaths
at all ages were of children under the age of five years.