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 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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The following table gives the age distribution of the 10 persons who died from influenza during 1936:—
| Under 1 year. | 1— year. | 5— years. | 15— years. | 25-years. | 35— years. | 45— years. | 55-years. | 65— years. | 75— years. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | 2 | 4 | 2 |
From general information in the possession of the Health Department it would
appear that the prevailing type of influenza was mild.
Diarrhœa and Enteritis.
During the year 28 deaths of children under two years of age from diarrhœa
and enteritis, along with associated and other conditions, were reported. This
gives a death rate of 0.33 per 1,000 population and 21.98 per 1,000 births.
These figures for Shoreditch and for London respectively are given along with the corresponding figures for children under one year of age in the following table:—
| Deaths under two years. | Deaths under one year. | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number. | Rate per 1,000 population | Rate per 1,000 births. | Total number. | Rate per 1,000 population | Rate per 1,000 births. | Percentage of deaths under 1 yr. | ||||||||
| 1935. | 1930. | 1935. | 1936. | 1935. | 1936. | 1935. | 1936. | 1935. | 1936. | 1935. | 1936. | 1935. | 1936. | |
| London | 622 | 823 | 0.15 | 0.20 | 11.2 | 14.5 | 583 | 785 | 0.14 | 0.19 | 10.4 | 13.95 | 18.1 | 20.9 |
| Shoreditch | 10 | 28 | 0.11 | 0.33 | 7.6 | 21.98 | 9 | 25 | 0.10 | 0.29 | 6.9 | 19.60 | 13.4 | 25.3 |
The disease "diarrhœa and enteritis" occurring in children under two years
of age is often termed" summer diarrhœa." True summer diarrhœa is, however,
a disease which occurs towards the latter end of a hot summer and persists during
the early autumn. The frequency of this condition bears very little relation to the
actual numbers of deaths certified as due to "diarrhœa and enteritis." This statement
is borne out by the following table, which shows the actual numbers of deaths
which were certified as due to enteritis and other conditions respectively in the six
years 1931-1936:—