London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Stepney 1911

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stepney]

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35
Of the 291 deaths in the Borough:—
84 occurred in the Limehouse District, or at the rate of 1.6 per 1,000 of
the population.
72 occurred in St. George-in-the-East, or at the rate of 1.53 per 1,000 of
the population.
113 occurred in Mile End Old Town, or at the rate of 1.15 per 1,000 of the
population.
22 occurred in the Whitechapel District, or at the rate of .32 per 1,000 of
the population.
The death-rate throughout the whole of the Borough was at the annual rate
of 1.04 per 1,000 of the population, while that for the whole of London was .57 per
1,000.

The distribution of the cases notified between May 13th and the end of November was as follows:—

Cases.
Limehouse District292
St. George-in-the-East442
Mile End Old Town523
Whitechapel District562

To sum up, the first condition necessary in the administrative control of the
spread of Measles, although not the only one, is the compulsory notification of Measles.
The notification must be as complete as in Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria. In the
second place there should be close co-operation with the Medical Inspectors of school
children. When a child first attends school, his record with regard to infectious
diseases should be entered on a schedule kept for that purpose. When a child attends
school suffering from the preliminary catarrh of Measles, twelve days afterwards,
the first crop of cases occurs among the children in this class. If the names of all
the children who had previously suffered from Measles were known, all the unprotected
children attending the class could be excluded from school for a certain period,
and a further increase due to a second crop of cases could be prevented.
Notification must be accompanied by removal of early cases to fever hospitals,
particularly those children where there are no means of isolation at home, or where
there are other susceptible children in the infected household. By prompt removal
of the early cases, the beds at the disposal of the Metropolitan Asylums Board may
be found to be sufficient if the epidemic is not of a virulent type. These measures
should be supplemented by the more extended appointment of Health Visitors to
visit infected households and see that the regulations for carrying out the remedies
for preventing the spread of infection are observed, by efficiently disinfecting the
premises, as well as by improved sanitary conditions generally.
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