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
St Martin-in-the-Fields 1897
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Martin-in-the-Fields]
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26
TABLE XI.
Copied from the Registrar-General's Annual Summary of Births, Deaths, and
Causes of Death in London for the year 1897.
| CAUSE OF DEATH. | Diminution in 1897. | Excess in 1897. |
|---|---|---|
| Small-pox | 29 | - |
| Measles | 942 | — |
| Scarlet Fever | 311 | — |
| Typhus | 9 | — |
| Influenza | 398 | — |
| Whooping-cough | 794 | — |
| Diphtheria | - | 222 |
| Simple Fever | 21 | — |
| Enteric Fever | 40 | — |
| Diarrhœal Diseases | — | 1,156 |
| Cancer | — | 475 |
| Phthisis and other Tubercular Diseases | 980 | - |
| Premature Birth | — | 282 |
| Diseases of Nervous System | 1,483 | - |
| Diseases of Circulatory System | 150 | — |
| Diseases of Respiratory System | 4,910 | — |
| Diseases of Urinary System | - | 135 |
| Childbirth and Puerperal Fever | 79 | — |
| Accident | — | 134 |
| Homicide | 7 | — |
| Suicide | - | - |
| All other Causes | — | 98 |
| 10,153 | 2,502 | |
| Balance of Diminution or Excess | 7,651 | — |
This Table shows in a summary form, the number of lives saved
and the number lost in the year 1897, as compared with the
preceding decenniam, under each of the more important headings in
the list of causes.
The net gain in life saved during 1897 is represented by 7,651
lives. In other words, had the average death-rate in 1887-96 continued
throughout the year under present notice, 7,651 lives would
have been sacrificed in addition to those which have been actually
lost by death. In the year 1897 there was, as compared with the
decennial average, an excess of 222 deaths from diphtheria, 1,156
from diarrhœal diseases, 475 from cancer, 282 from premature birth,
135 from urinary diseases, and 134 from accident. Under each of
the other headings in the table the mortality in 1897 was below the
average. This was notably the case in regard to measles, whooping-cough,
phthisis, and diseases of the nervous and of the respiratory
system, the deaths referred to the last-mentioned group of diseases
being 4,910 below the annual average.