London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Bethnal Green 1872

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bethnal Green]

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thus conveniently arranged into four orders or groups, of which specific fevers, syphilis,
scurvy, worms, are the common names typical of diseases in the respective groups.
" In the greater number of the diseases of this class the blood is more or less changed,
and by some is presumed to be the primary seat of diseases which result from specific
poisons, of organic origin, either derived from without or generated within the body.
These specific poisons tend to produce in the blood an excess of those decomposing organic
compounds which physiology teaches us are always present in the circulating current.
" That the habitual ingestion of decomposing matter in the water used as drink is
capable of inducing conditions favourable to the development of Zymotic diseases, admits
of no doubt. Cogent instances of this are to be found recorded in the bitter experience
of epidemics of cholera."
The deaths from this class of diseases were registered as follows:—
1872.
1873.
Small Pox
269
41
Measles
82
43
Scarlet Fever
41
17
Diphtheria
2
6
Whooping Cough
118
147
Fever
63
44
Diarrhœa
159
143
Cholera
11
12
745
443
Decrease
302
It will be seen that there was a decrease in the number of deaths in all
the Zymotics, with the exception of Whooping Cough, which rose from
118 to 147, and the small increase in Diphtheria, which rose from 2 to 6.
Happily the Small Pox, that lately was so rife amongst us and greatly
added to our mortality, and to which 269 deaths were attributable the
the preceeding year, fell during the past to 41.
There is no doubt that the carrying out of the Vaccination Act
energetically by the Vaccination Officer, Mr. Winter, has greatly conduced
to lessen the number of Small Pox cases. The Registrars forward
to the Vaccination Officer a statement of the names and addresses of all
children born, and if the Certificate of Vaccination is not sent in within
the three months prescribed by law, then notice is served by him upon
the parents, and if this in due course is not complied with, a summons is
issued.
The following is a table shewing the number of children born, those
that were successfully vaccinated, together with those that were in-