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SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT
For the Year ending 28th December, 1861
Gentlemen,
The sixth year of my office as your Medical Officer of Health having
recently terminated, I have again the honor of laying before you my Annual Report of
the sickness and mortality in your district
The returns of the local registrars show that in the course of the fifty-two weeks comprised
in the year 1861, the registered births have been 2,686, of which 1,373 are males, and
1,313 are females The deaths during the same period have been 2,331, viz: 1,217 males
and 1,114 females, including those of 179 non-residents This is at the rate of 27-2 per
1,000, or one in 37 of the entire population; but if all the deaths (366) which occurred
in the London Hospital be excluded from the calculation, then the rate of mortality in
the district is 25-2 per 1,000, or 1 in 40 of the entire population
In the previous year 2,746 births, and 2,302 deaths were registered; the number of
births therefore in this year is less by 60, and that of deaths greater by 29 The deaths
from epidemic diseases are 388, which number is an increase of 42 upon that of the previous
year Small-pox shows an increase of 7 deaths, scarlet fever and diphtheria of 11, hooping
cough of 49, and diarrhcea of 54; whilst the deaths from measles arc less by 54, and
those from fever by 5 The deaths from epidemic diseases during this year are in the
proportion of 16-2 per cent of the total mortality, whilst in the preceding year the
deaths from these diseases were in the proportion of 15 per cent On referring to table
No XIII in the appendix, the number of deaths from epidemic diseases in each year
since 1856 will be seen; from which table it appears that the deaths from this class of
diseases have greatly diminished, viz: from 421 to 346 The greatest mortality from
epidemic diseases occurred in 1858, when 498 deaths were registered If the number
of deaths under the head of typhus be referred to, it will be seen that from 1856 to the
present period, it has been annually less Thus, in 1856 the deaths from fever were 188;
in 1857, they were 117; in 1858, 104; in 1859, 93; in 1860, 69; and in 1861 they were
64 This table is further interesting, as showing the increase and diminution of the
several epidemic diseases
This term includes typhus, typhoid, eutcric, gastric, pythogenic, and low fever The word typhus is derived
from a Greek word, signifying stupor, which is only one of the symptoms of the disease Typhoid means "like
typhuspythogenic is the term applied by Dr Murchison to typhoid fever, and is derived from two Greek words
signifying generated from putrescence