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 Saviour's (Southwark) 1896
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Saviour's]
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41
premature birth and congenital debility. A knowledge of the
social and sanitary conditions of this district, extending now
over 13 years, enables me to assert that though some of these
cases may be due to errors of diet, &c., still a very large proportion,
which are classified under the heading congenital
debility, marasmus, &c., are in reality due to hereditary syphilis.
It is a curious commentary on our legislative system that while
the law enables us to cope with the specific fevers, it at the
same time allows this, perhaps the most terrible of all diseases,
to run its course unheeded and unchecked.
The following in a tabulated form will show the various causes of death:—
| Disease. | St. Saviour. | Christcharch. | Workhouse. | Outlying |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Zymotic. | ||||
| Measles | 10 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Scarlet Fever | — | 1 | — | 3 |
| Whooping Cough | 8 | 8 | — | 2 |
| Diphtheria | 1 | 2 | — | 15 |
| Typhoid Fever | — | — | — | 1 |
| Diarrhoea | 6 | 10 | — | 2 |
| Syphilis | — | 2 | — | 2 |
| Erysipelas | 1 | 2 | — | 1 |
| Puerperal Fever | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Septic | — | — | — | 6 |
| Influenza | — | — | — | 1 |
| 2. Dietetic. | ||||
| Alcoholism | — | 1 | — | — |
| 3. Constitutional. | ||||
| Cancer | 5 . | .. 4 ... | 1 ... | 12 |
| Tabes Mesenterica | ... 5 . | — | — | o |
| Tub. Meningitis Phthisis... | 2 .17 | 7 18 | — — | 3 43 |
| Other constitutional diseases | 2 | 1 | — | 7 |
| 4. Developmental. | ||||
| Premature Birth and debility | 14 | 28 | — | 5 |
| Old Age | 4 | 12 | — | 5 |