London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Southall-Norwood 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall-Norwood]
This page requires JavaScript
special reasons. The following table shows the monthly number of cases, and their distribution North and South of the railway:—
| Month. | North Side. | South Side. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12 | 16 | 28 |
| February | 4 | 14 | 18 |
| March | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| April | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| May | 2 | 11 | 13 |
| June | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| July | — | 4 | 4 |
| August | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| September | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| October | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| November | 9 | 19 | 28 |
| December | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| 46 | 95 | 141 |
The excess of cases on the South side is due to the greater
density of population in those streets and areas from which the
majority of the cases came. In most of the houses the crowding
limit is reached, and in many exceeded. This rendered control
difficult, as evidenced by the fact that in this part of the town by
far the greater number of multiple cases in one house occurred.
Here, too, street infection and house-to-house infection seemingly
played a greater part in the spread of the complaint than elsewhere.
TABLE OF AGES.
| 1-5 Years. | 5-15 Years. | 15-25 Years. | 25-45 Years. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Ward | 8 | 41 | 6 | 2 | 57 |
| West Ward | 14 | 55 | 11 | 4 | 84 |
| 22 | 96 | 17 | 6 | 141 |
While the incidence was mainly on children of school age, the
number of adult cases shows an excess as last year.