London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hackney 1859
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
This page requires JavaScript
TABLE V.
1855—1859.—Corrected Deaths from certain Epidemic Diseases.
| Years | Small Pox. | Measles | Scarlet Fever. | Whooping Cough | Diarrhoea | Fever. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1855 | 18 | 7 | 87 | 58 | 30 | 76 |
| 1856 | 13 | 44 | 56 | 31 | 72 | 68 |
| 1857 | 1 | 24 | 45 | 61 | 75 | 63 |
| 1858 | 0 | 37 | 79 | 67 | 62 | 53 |
| 1859 | 6 | 10 | 82 | 36 | 87 | 55 |
This Table shows that small-pox was far more fatal in 1855 than in
any year since, although nearly every other part of the metropolis has
suffered severely from it during the last two years ; that measles was
most fatal in 1856 ; scarlet fever in 1855 and 1859, so that we may
expect a considerable decrease in the mortality from this disease during
1360 and 1861; whooping cough in 1857 and 1858 ; diarrhoea in 1856,
1857 and 1859; whilst fever has decreased every year except during
1859. This increased mortality from fever has been entirely caused by
the outbreak in Brook Street, Victoria Street, and Albert Street, to
which I shall specially refer. It is an exceedingly satisfactory proof of
the increasing effect produced by sanitary measures that fever has steadily
decreased since the introduction of the Metropolis Local Management
Act.
I now propose submitting to you a Table showing the mortality in each
quarter, and the ages at death.
TABLE VI. 1859.—Ages at Death.
| Quarter | Under 1 Year. | Between 1 and 20 | Between 20 and4'J | Between 40 and 60 | Between 60 and8J | Above80 | Total. | Pr cent. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 60 | 101 | 49 | 51 | 96 | 25 | 382 | 24.4 | |
| 2nd | 52 | 76 | 56 | 58 | 69 | 23 | 334 | 21.4 | |
| 3rd | 121 | 88 | 53 | 54 | 82 | 28 | 446 | 27.2 | |
| 4th | 63 | 128 | 54 | 64 | 84 | 28 | 421 | 27.0 | |
| Totals | 296 | 293 | 212 | 227 | 331 | 104 | 1563 | 100 | |
| Pr. cent. | 18.9 | 25.1 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 21.3 | 6.7 | 100 | ||
Out of the 1563 deaths 382 or 24.4 per cent, occurred in the first
quarter, which ended on the 31st of March; 334 on the 2nd quarter, or
only 21.4 per cent.; no less than 426, or 27.2 per cent, in the third
quarter, which was a most unusual occurrence; and 421, or 27.0 per
cent, in the last quarter. As before observed, the extreme heat during
the third quarter, and the large mortality from diarrhoea and other
summer diseases account for this.