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
Mitcham 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Mitcham]
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40
The incidence of infectious disease in each ward, per 1,000 of
the population of the ward, was :—
North ward 3.6
South ward 5.5
East ward 4.1
Westward 6.0
These rates are based on the estimated ward population for 1932.
The question has arisen as to why there are a larger number of
cases notified from the West ward in comparison with the other
wards. The actual number of notifications received is no true
indication of the prevalence of an infectious disease.
The following table taken from the 1931 Census will help in considering this question :—
| Area in | Population. | Persons | Persons | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward. | acres. | Males. | Females, | Total. | per acre. | per room. |
| East | 993 | 9,141 | 9,492 | 18,633 | 18.8 | 0.81 |
| North | 236 | 5,799 | 6,277 | 12,076 | 51.2 | 0.82 |
| South | 1,331 | 5,651 | 5,808 | 11,459 | 8.6 | 0.93 |
| West | 375 | 7,226 | 7,465 | 14,691 | 39.2 | 0.95 |
From the above table it will be seen that although the West
ward has not the largest ward population, yet there are more
persons per room. This means that if an infectious disease is
introduced it has a far better chance of spreading because of the
larger number of persons per room. The North ward has more
persons per acre but a lesser number of persons per room than the
West ward. The West ward is also bounded on one side by the
Borough of Wimbledon and on the other side by the Metropolitan
Borough of Wandsworth, and the introduction of infectious diseases
from these areas would first of all make itself apparent in the West
ward before spreading into the other wards of Mitcham.