London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

West Ham 1926

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]

This page requires JavaScript

66
number treated in the previous year the type of disease remained
mild. Diphtheria, on the other hand, showed a decrease
in the number of cases treated, and also in the fatality
rate. Whooping cough was not prevalent, and the incidence
of typhoid fever remained low.

The chief causes of death during the year are briefly summarised as follows: —

Scarlet Fever caused6deaths.
D0iphtheria caused13,,
Measles caused17,,
Pneumonia caused5,,
Erysipelas caused2,,
Whooping Cough caused2,,
Other diseases caused11,,
Total56

The mortality rate, calculated on all the cases admitted,
was 2.99 percent.
In Table I. there is shown the annual admissions and
deaths from scarlet fever, diphtheria and typhoid fever during
the past 31 years. The Hospital was opened in 1896, but the
building was not completed until 1901, and typhoid fever cases
were not admitted until that year. From this table it will be seen
that typhoid fever has greatly diminished in recent
years, and it has now become a comparatively rare disease.
Scarlet Fever shows marked fluctuations in prevalence,
and though it has become a mild disease, as judged by its
fatality rate, it is still the cause of much permanent disability
on account of the complications which so frequently occur
with it. Diphtheria still remains prevalent in the Borough,
but the number of deaths caused by it has shown a steady
decrease during the past four years. The evidence is increasing
every year that both these diseases can be prevented by
the active immunisation of individuals who have been found
to be susceptible by the Dick and Schick tests. In several
districts this method is now being practised on an extensive
scale with encouraging results.