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
East Ham 1914
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]
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29
Scarlet Fever.
677 cases of this disease were notified during the year as
against 526 in the year 1913.
During the early part of the year the disease still continued
to be of a very mild type, and there is no doubt this mildness
was a reason for the unusual spread of the disease.
In some cases the symptoms were so slight that the disease
was not discovered until desquamation had commenced, and in
the meantime the child may have returned to School, or as I
have mentioned in previous reports, attended Cinema Theatres,
and thus spread infection.
7 deaths occurred from the disease giving a death-rate of 0'05,
compared with 0.03 for the year 1913.
The death-rate for England and Wales was 0'08 and for the
97 great towns 0.09.
Of the 677 cases notified 503 were admitted to the Isolation
Hospital.
The following table gives the number of cases of Scarlet Fever notified, the attack-rate per 1,000 of population, and the case mortality during the past five years :—
| Year. | Population. | Cases Notified. | Attack rate per 1,000 of Population. | Mortality per too cases notified. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 130,596 | 329 | 2.5 | 0.9 |
| 1911 | 134,441 | 377 | 2.8 | 0.5 |
| 1912 | 138,450 | 435 | 3.1 | 1.6 |
| 1913 | 142,467 | 526 | 3.6 | 0.8 |
| 1914 | 146,526 | 677 | 4.6 | 1.0 |
Diphtheria.
319 cases of this disease were notified during the year with
27 deaths.
258 cases were notified in 1913 with 16 deaths.