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No. 9.
REPORT
on the
HEALTH OF PADDINGTON
DURING THE HALF-YEAR ENDING
LADY-DAY, 18 6 3,
BY J. BURDON SANDERSON, M.D.,
Medical Officer of Health.
PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE VESTRY.
Population of Paddington, April, 1861 75,807.
Vestry Hall; May, 1863.
During the six Months ending March 28th the mortality of the Metropolis
was high; 61 in every 10,000 of the population died in the last quarter of
1862, and 65 in the first quarter of 1863. In Paddington the quarterly death
rates were also higher than usual, being 50 per 10,000 for October, November,
and December, and 54 per 10,000 for January, February, and March. If,
however, the prevalence of fatal disease had been as great during the six
months referred to in Paddington as in the rest of London, the loss of life
would have been greater than it actually was by 182.
The increased mortality occurred for the most part in the beginning of the
winter ; it was mainly due to the unusual prevalence of scarlatina in November,
December, and January, in which months no less than 74 children died of this
disease. As regards 45 of these children, it may be inferred from their places
of residence that their parents occupied such a social position as to be beyond
the reach of those sanitary evils which are associated with destitution.
Scarlatina was just twice as fatal in Paddington as in the rest of the Metropolis,
certainly not because Paddington is less healthy, but because scarlatina is not
one of those diseases which are dependent upon bad drainage, over-crowding or
other local causes.
Small pox has been fatal to six persons, two of whom were unvaccinated
adults, the rest young children. In the whole of London the deaths from this
cause amounted during the last quarter to 422, or 1.4 per 10,000. As compared
with this proportion, the mortality in Paddington was only 0.4, so that
it amounted to of the whole number of deaths in the Parish, and 1/17 of
the mortality from scarlatina. During the last month the disease has spread
somewhat more rapidly, but its attacks have been confined to streets inhabited
by persons who, from their mode of life, and their reckless disregard for all
precautions, are particularly liable to contagion.
The measures which have been taken to arrest further progress of smallpox
have consisted in the circulation of printed hand-bills, setting forth in homely
language the necessity of vaccination, and warning the people of the consequences
of neglect, and in visiting from house to house those streets and places
in which small pox is likely to prevail, or cases have already occurred, for
the purpose of seeing that the people avail themselves of the facilities which
are offered them for vaccination. What remains to be done is to provide for
the reception and treatment of persons suffering from the disease. On this
subject a circular has been issued by the Medical Officers of Health of the
Metropolis, in which they express the opinion that "whenever a case of smallpox
occurs in a populous locality the patient ought, in the interests of public
health, to be removed as soon as possibleand advise that "temporary
buildings should be opened in such situations as may be best suited for the
purpose." The number of persons who have as yet been attacked in this