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SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
To the Board of Works, Fulham District.
Gentlemen,
On the 8th of April of the past year, the day on which the
people were numbered throughout England and Wales, the population
of the Fulham district was 39,951, of which Hammersmith contained
24,413 and Eulham 15,538, and if the inhabitants of these parishes
increased in the same proportion as the rest of the metropolis, which
there is every reason to believe was the case, those numbers were
augmented by the end of the year to upwards of 24,700 and 15,700
respectively. In 1851 the population of Hammersmith was 17,760,
of Eulham 11,886, so that in the ten years, 1851 to 1861, the former
increased 6653 and the latter 3652, whilst upwards of 1100 inhabited
houses have been added to the district.
SICKNESS AND MORTALITY.
The year 1861 has been marked by one of those periodical
visitations of epidemic disease which have attended the progress of
large populations, and the general mortality of London has been
increased by about 3000 over that of the preceding year. Scarlatina
and diptheria have prevailed, whilst a considerable mortality has
arisen from whooping-cough. The Eulham district has not proved
exempt from the general influence. Scarlet fever made its appearance
towards the latter part of the year, and contributed 40 to our mortality.
As may be expected from the nature of the population, Fulham has
given 35 of the number, but it is satisfactory evidence of the influence
of sanitary measures to observe that no special locality has prominently
suffered from its attack. The deaths have been distributed over the
general area, and it is fair to presume that whilst the epidemic poison
was floating in the air, it found not the usual localized food for its
destructive influences amongst us. Isolated cases of Diptheria have,
from time to time, during 1861, been noticed, though it added only
two to the mortality in the district. Medical science has not yet
achieved a perfect knowledge of this mysterious visitant, but there is
reason to hope, that should it continue in our list of prevalent diseases,
the mortality from it will be more than proportionately diminished as
our investigations into its time nature are matured. I am happy to
say that no death from Small-Pox has been"recorded during the year,