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 James's 1858
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St James's, Westminster]
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7
and fourth, the summer and autumn quarters of
the year; the first and second, the winter and
spring: quarters, were higher than the average.
The death in your parish in the years 1857 and 1856 and previously, will be seen by the following Table:—
| Average death for 10 years pre-vious to 1856, | 775 |
| Death in the year 1856, | 682 |
| Ditto „ 1857, | 712 |
| Ditto „ 1858, | 666 |
Passing on from these general facts, let me now
call your attention to the features of the special
diseases for the year. The group of diseases which
are called "zymotic" are those which appear most
under the control of sanitary regulations. It should,
however, be always recollected that one of the
greatest barriers to the practical efficiency of sanitary
arrangement is the ignorance and carelessness of
the public. This is especially seen in the case of
zymotic diseases, where personal cleanliness, and the
separation of infected persons from the rest of the
family are absolutely necessary to prevent the
spread of disease. Instead of this, it is frequently
seen that, where these diseases occur, little or
no attention is paid to their infectious character,
and an unscrupulous intercourse is carried on
between the members of infected families, not only
amongst themselves, but amongst their neighbours.