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 Giles (Camberwell) 1871
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Camberwell]
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42
proportion, for we there find, under the heads of
special infantile causes of death—viz., Premature
birth or defective vitality continuing from birth,
inflammatory affections of the lungs, diarrhoea, and
hydrocephalus and convulsions of infancy—that the
mortalitv has been evervwhere considerable, excent in
A reference to the mortuary tables will readily explain this disproportion, for we there find, under the heads of special infantile causes of death—viz., Premature Birth or defective vitality continuing from birth, inflammatory affections of the lungs, diarrhœa, and hydrocephalus and convulsions of infancy—that the mortality has been everywhere considerable, except in Dulwich:—
| Premature birth. | Inflammatory Affections of the Lungs. | Diarrhœa. | Convulsions & c. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dulwich | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Camberwell | 44 | 41 | 24 | 52 | 161 |
| Peckham | 74 | 64 | 58 | 78 | 274 |
| St. George's | 60 | 62 | 37 | 63 | 222 |
Now there is no doubt that the mortality from
these affections has occurred mainly among the
poorer population, and that its excess among them
has been in great part due to conditions which
attend poverty, and some of which it is our especial
duty to watch over and to obviate.
I have not adverted to the effect of the infectious
fevers in increasing the mortality of young children
(although these operate in no inconsiderable degree)
partly because collectively they are not nearly so