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 1937

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

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Duration of disease before death. The year of notification
of each of the patients who died from tuberculosis in 1937 is given
in Table IX. The following discussion relates especially to
pulmonary cases, and the table does not give the percentage
calculated for these cases only. The non-pulmonary deaths are,
however, so few that they do not vitiate the conclusions. It is
seen—excluding the 7 per cent. of deaths which occurred in
persons who had not been notified as suffering from tuberculosis—

Table: Table VII.Deaths from non-respiratory tuberculosis, 1937.

Table VII.

Deaths from non-respiratory tuberculosis, 1937.

DiseaseAge (years)All ages
0-1-2_5-10-15-20-25-35-45-55-65-
Tuberculous meningitis_43__3_1_1_12
Tuberculous peritonitis—2—-——1—211—7
Miliary tuberculosis---1--1-----2
Tuberculosis of sacro-iliac joint----------11
Tuberculous ulcer of neck-----------11
Lupus--------1---1
Total—631—32—412224

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that about 41 per cent. of the persons who died from the disease
during the year had been notified within the previous twelve
months. Further, about 62 per cent. of the persons who died
from the disease during the year had shown symptoms sufficiently
suggestive to warrant notification within the previous two years.
These figures indicate a type of the disease which shows considerable
activity. From the table it is seen also that only about 13
per cent. of the patients who died from tuberculosis in 1937 had
survived, for five years or longer from the date of first notification.
There is no doubt that certain factors must contribute to
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