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
Hackney 1856
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
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is not to be depended on as a criterion for in some districts fever cases
are more uniformly sent to the fever Hospital than in others. Still, the
table shows as I stated in my last report, that a far greater number of
fever cases prove fatal in Hackney than I hope will be the case when
Sanitary measures have been in operation for a longer period. It is,
however pleasing to state that a less number of deaths from fever happened
in the district during last than in the previous year.
On comparing the deaths from epidemic diseases with those from
all causes, we perceive that the rate is moderately uniform varying
between 17.0 and 24.2 per cent; 17 per cent of the total number of
deaths in Lewisham, 18.1 in Hackney, and 22.7 in Shoreditch occurred
from epidemic diseases.
DEATHS FROM EPIDEMIC DISEASES, 1855—56.
| Locality. | Deaths from all Causes. | From Epidemic Diseases. | From Fever. | Percentages. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epidmcs to deaths from all causes. | Fever to all Causes. | Fever. other epidmc | ||||
| Kensington | 6136 | 1078 | 189 | 17.5 | 3.1 | 17.6 |
| Marylebone | 7317 | 1278 | 198 | 17.5 | 2.7 | 15.8 |
| Hackney | 2860 | 517 | 134 | 18.1 | 4.7 | 25.9 |
| Shoreditch | 5675 | 1289 | 366 | 22.7 | 6.5 | 28.4 |
| St. George's East | 2519 | 542 | 96 | 21.5 | 3.4 | 17.7 |
| Bermondsey | 2390 | 579 | 98 | 24.2 | 41 | 16.9 |
| Lambeth | 6187 | 1221 | 205 | 19.7 | 3.3 | 16.7 |
| Camberwell | 2550 | 434 | 53 | 17.0 | 21 | 12.2 |
| Lewisham | 1379 | 323 | 54 | 23.4 | 3.9 | 16.7 |
| Whitechapel | 4699 | 890 | 318 | 18.9 | 6.8 | 35.7 |
In. concluding this part of my report I most strenuously urge the
necessity of commencing any works which require a disturbance of the
ground at as early a period as possible, several severe out-breaks of
fever and cholera having occurred in those localities in which extensive
excavations have been made during the summer months.
I have already mentioned that the rate of death for the whole
Metropolis, was under the average, which may be explained in part by
the meteorology of the year having been unusually favorable, and in
part from the sanitary improvements which are being made to so great
an extent. With regard to the meteorological phenomena, 1 may
mention that the mean temperature at Greenwich was about an
average, having been 0.7 above it, the winter having been unusually
mild j the spring quarter was a little below the mean temperature, the