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
West Ham 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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Extracts from Vital Statistics of the Year.
| Births— | Total. | Male. | Female. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legitimate | 7,578 | 3,898 | 3,680 | Birth-rate, 24.81 | |
| Illegitimate | 225 | 120 | 105 | ||
| Deaths | 3,331 | 1,803 | 1,528 | Death-rate, | 10.59 |
Number of women dying in or consequence of child-birth—
From Sepsis 11
From other causes 13
Deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 births—
Legitimate, 439; illegitimate, 27. Total 466
Deaths from measles (all ages) 12
Deaths from whooping cough (all ages) 23
Deaths from diarrhoea (under 2 years of age) 70
Bacteriological Investigations.
In addition to the Bacteriological routine work carried out
at the Plaistow Hospital and the Tuberculosis Dispensary
(recorded in the Appendix), 280 diphtheria specimens and 148
tubercular sputa were examined on behalf of the Public Health
Department and private practitioners. In connection with a
diphtheria outbreak at one school in the Borough, prompt
inspection by two Assistant School Medical Officers, accompanied
by bacteriological investigation, discovered an unsuspected
" carrier." whose exclusion checked further spread of
the disease.
Below is appended a table showing the number of cases of the notifiable diseases occurring during the year, together with the number removed to hospitals and the total number of deaths in each disease.
| Disease. | Cases Notified. | Removed to Hospital. | Total Deaths. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smallpox | 2 | 2 | .. |
| Diphtheria | 701 | 671 | 27 |
| Scarlet Fever | 530 | 412 | 7 |
| Enteric F ever and Paratyphoid | 25 | 10 | 1 |
| Puerpural Fever | 16 | 14 | 11 |
| Pneumonia | 198 | .. | 119 |
| Cerebro Spinal Fever | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Acute Poliomyelitis, etc. | 5 | 4 | .. |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Erysipelas | 138 | .. | 4 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 31 | .. | .. |
| Malaria | .. | .. | .. |