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 1887
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
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23
as we shall see, has hitherto been fortunate in having a death
rate from these diseases much below that of the Metropolis
generally.
The subjoined Table sets out necessary particulars of the mortality from the principal zymotic diseases in 1887, together with the decennial average, etc. :—
| Disease. | Sub-districts. | In Hospitals. | Total. | Decennial Average. Corrected | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Town | Brompton. | Town | Brompton. | Uncorrected | for increase of Population. | ||
| Small-pox | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 250 | 26.8 |
| Measles | 84 | 22 | 2 | — | 108 | 62.4 | 66.8 |
| Scarlet Fever | 21 | 1 | 19 | 3 | 44 | 42.8 | 45.8 |
| Diphtheria | 27 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 40 | 204 | 21.8 |
| Whooping Cough | 83 | 3 | — | — | 86 | 91.6 | 98.0 |
| Typhus Fever — | – | – | — | — | — | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Enteric Fever | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 210. | 22.4 |
| Simple Continued Fever | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | 40 | 4.3 |
| Diarrhcea | 108 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 124 | 100.7 | 107.8 |
| 326 | 51 | 30 | 9 | 416 | 369.4 | 395.3 | |
It appears, then, that the deaths from these diseases
were 21 above the corrected decennial average. They were also
126 more than in 1886. As usual, the deaths in the Brompton
sub-district (60) were fewer in proportion to population than
in the Town sub-district, and even to a greater extent than in
immediately preceding years. The total deaths were equal to
144.8 per 1,000 deaths from all causes in Kensington (Metrolis,
154.3), and to a rate of 2.4 per 1,000 persons living
(Metropolis, 3.0); the decennial average being 2.2 in Kensington,
and 3.2 in London. In England and Wales the deaths
from these diseases were 121.9 in each 1,000 deaths; and the
rate was 2.3 per 1,000 persons living, the decennial average
being 2.7 per 1,000.
In the 27 Cities and Boroughs grouped by the RegistrarGeneral
with the Metropolis, the zymotic death rate was 3.2
per 1,000, ranging from 1.25 in Halifax to 4.86 in Manchester;
while in 50 other large Town Districts it averaged 2.25 per
1.000, the highest rate (4.89 per 1,000), being recorded at
Warrington, and the lowest rate (0.8) at Southport.