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
Woolwich 1905
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
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39
and 1903. The London death rate was lower still, viz., 0.12.
The death rate in the 76 great, towns was 0.16.
54. Ninety-eight cases were in Woolwich Parish, 165 in Plumstead, and 10 in Eltham. The following table shows the case rate in each parish (not corrected for mistaken diagnosis) in the past five years compared with London and the Borough :—
| 1901. | 1902. | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | Avg. 5 Years. 1901-1905. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Borough | 1.84 | 1.87 | 1.51 | 1.30 | 2.01 | 1.71 |
| Woolwich Parish | 1.56 | 1.67 | 1.27 | 1.22 | 2.45 | 1.63 |
| Plumstead „ | 1.90 | 2.09 | 1.67 | 1.47 | 2.22 | 1.87 |
| Eltham ,, | 2.33 | 1.08 | 1.40 | 0.45 | 0.86 | 1.62 |
| London | 2.70 | 2.30 | 1.64 | 1.52 | 1.36 | 1.90 |
It is seen that in London there lias been a steady progressive
decline in Diphtheria Notifications since 1901. In Woolwich this
decline lasted only till 1904.
55. 218 cases—or 80 per cent, of notifications—were removed
to hospital. Certificates of efficient home isolation were given in
eight cases. The case mortality was only 6.6 per cent., compared
with 8.8, 9.9, 7.0 and 17.8 in the four preceding years, and with
8'6 in London. This is the lowest case mortality recorded in the
Borough. Fourteen of the 18 deaths occurred in the Fever
Hospitals.
56. The reason that the number of cases was so large and the
number of deaths so small was that, owing to school outbreaks of
the disease in January, special efforts were made by personal inspection
and bacteriological examination to discover the source
of infection, and to prevent any persons from infected houses
continuing to act as carriers of infection. The result of these
efforts was to discover a large number of persons who were
carriers of infection, and either had no symptoms of illness