London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Woolwich 1909
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
This page requires JavaScript
The following table gives the deaths and death-rates per 1,000 population in each year since the Borough was formed There has been a marked reduction in death-rate since 1904.
| Year | Number | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 21 | 0.18 |
| 1902 | 52 | 0.43 |
| 1903 | 27 | 0.22 |
| 1904 | 54 | 0.43 |
| 1905 | 16 | 0.13 |
| 1906 | 21 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 37 | 0.29 |
| 1908 | 32 | 0.25 |
| 1909 | 15 | 0.12 |
361 cases were notified by school-teachers, compared with
174 and 598 in the two previous years Of these 78 were under
five years of age, 282 between five and ten, and one over ten
This disease was increasingly prevalent towards the close of
the year, and on my suggestion Dr. Kerr excluded children
under five from all the L.C.C schools in Woolwich and
Plumstead parishes, excepting Elizabeth Street School
There can be little doubt that the mortality from this disease
might be diminished by instructing parents, through leaflets
and health-visitors, as to the hygienic treatment of the eases
that occur To do so, however, would require an increase
of staff
The mortality of the disease in the past three years was
seven per cent. of notified cases, more than double the
mortality of Measles, and several times greater than that of
Scarlet Fever
Scarlet Fever
36 There were 996 cases of Scarlet Fever notified (deducting