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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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:-
| 1931. | 1932. | 1933. | 1934. | 1935. | 1936. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enteritis | 20 | 13 | 11 | 19 | 5 | 14 |
| Broncho-pneumonia and enteritis | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | - | 7 |
| Bronchitis and enteritis | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Marasmus and enteritis | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 |
| Convulsions and enteritis | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - |
| Prematurity or debility from birth and enteritis | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Skin conditions and enteritis | - | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Other conditions and enteritis | - | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 33 | 26 | 22 | 31 | 10 | 28 | |
| Percentage of true enteritis | 60.6 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 61.3 | 50.0 | 50.0 |
The deaths which were certified as due to enteritis alone were possibly not
associated with any other condition, but in all the other instances the enteritis was
probably a complication of the primary condition which is stated in the table. It
is seen that true enteritis cases make up approximately 50 to 60 per cent. of all
deaths due to diarrhœa and enteritis which are certified in any one year.
The following table shows the monthly incidence of the deaths of true enteritis
in the six years 1931-1936. The table shows that the seasonal incidence in these
small samples was quite unimportant apart from the fact that a slightly larger
number of deaths occurred in July, 1931.
The conclusion that must be drawn
from these figures is that deaths which are certified as being due to diarrhœa and enteritis are not due to typical epidemic (summer) diarrhœa, which is essentially a disease of the late summer and early autumn.
| True Enteritis. | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May. | June. | July. | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| 1932 | 1 | - | 3 | 3 | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| 1933 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 1934 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | 3 | 19 |
| 1935 | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| 1936 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | 2 | 14 |
As was mentioned on page 30 the increased incidences of diarrhœa and enteritis
during 1936 was in part responsible for the increase in the infant mortality rate for
that year.