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
Kensington 1877
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
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33
SPECIAL CAUSES OF DEATH.
Zymotic Diseases.— Exceptionally favourable as are all the
vital statistics of 1877, the most satisfactory feature in them is the
low rate of mortality from the diseases of the zymotic class—
diseases considered to be of a more or less preventible character,
and, therefore, of the highest interest to sanitarians. The deaths
registered from the "seven principal" diseases (to adopt the
customary phraseology, although nine diseases, including the three
varieties of "fever" are embraced in this definition) were only
273 as against 498 in 1876—a reduction of 225. This number is
the lowest on our record, regard being had to the increase in
population. But in addition to the deaths from these diseases
registered in Kensington a further number took place in the
hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylum District Board, viz , 60 from
small pox, and 6 from "fever." Including these deaths the total is
raised to 339, viz, from small pox, 84; measles, 54; scarlet fever,
31; diphtheria, 10; whooping cough, 34; "fever," 21; including
"typhus" 2—(as registered);* enteric fever, 14 (I have assumed
that the 6 deaths in the hospitals were due to this disease),
and simple continued fever, 5, and diarrhoea, 99. All these figures
are below the average, small pox only excepted.
In the subjoined statement of the number of deaths in the sub-districts only those registered in Kensington are included, as I do not know how many of the deaths in the hospitals belong to the Town and how many to the Brompton sub-district.
| Town. | Brompton, | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Pox | 21 | 3 | 24 |
| Measles | 49 | 5 | 54 |
| Scarlet Fever | 25 | 6 | 31 |
| Diphtheria | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| Whooping Cough | 28 | 6 | 34 |
| "Typhus" Fever | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Enteric „ | 10 | 4 | 14 |
| Simple Continued Fever | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Diarrhœa | 91 | 8 | 99 |
| Total | 237 | 36 | 273 |
Thus 237 of the deaths were registered in the Town sub-district,
and only 36 in Brompton. If we apportion the extra-parochial
deaths in proportion to the population, the total deaths from these
diseases would be approximately 279 in the ''Town" sub-district,
and 54 in Brompton, and the death-rate from the principal zymotic
*Vide page 11 for a statement of my reasons for questioning the validity of the
diagnosis of "Typhus."