Annual report (abridged) of the Medical Officer of Health 1916.

  • Kensington (London, England). Royal Borough.
Date:
[1917]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Annual report (abridged) of the Medical Officer of Health 1916. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    4 Deaths from Tuberculosis and Death Rates per 1.000. Tuberculosis of Lungs. Other Tuberculous Diseases. Tuberculosis—All Forms. Death Rate. Death Rate. Deaths. Death Rate. Deaths. Deaths. Annual Average 1911-1915 0.35 1.3 179 60 239 1.04 54 186 1.22 0.35 240 1.57 1916 Notification certificates cannot be accepted as a guide to the prevalence and evidence of tuberculosis. It is probable that tuberculosis in better class patients is frequently not notified, and further that the number of notifications received has been affected by circumstances arising out of the war. The death rates for the several Wards have accordingly been set forth in the following Table as the only available index of relative prevalence in different localities and different grades of society. A complete list of the cases of the various infectious diseases notified during the year will be found in Table II., Appendix. In this Table the cases of each disease are classified according to the District of the Borough and the age period in which they occurred. The deaths from the infectious diseases are shown in Table 111., Appendix. In the cases of Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria and Enteric Fever the number of persons attacked and the case mortality were below the average of past years. Cerebro-Spinal Fever. —The prevalence of this disease did not attain epidemic dimensions. Twenty genuine cases were notified and 14 deaths occurred. In London as a whole 436 cases of cerebro-spinal fever and 102 deaths were recorded. Measles - Only 6 deaths from Measles occurred as compared with 80 to 90 deaths which have been registered in years of epidemics of a fatal type. Diarrhœa. —55 deaths at all ages were registered as due to Diarrhoea or Enteritis. In epidemic years, with excessive heat in the summer months, the deaths from the same causes under the age of two years alone range from 80 to 150. Small Pox.—No cases of Small Pox occurred in Kensington. Only three cases were notified in London during the year. Puerperal Fever. —Ten cases, about the average annual number, were notified during the year. The deaths from puerperal fever numbered 8 as compared with an average mortality of 5. Four cases were notified by the Medical Superintendent of the Kensington Infirmary. Among the remainder there was no instance of more than one case of puerperal fever occurring in the practice of the same midwife or doctor during the year. The dates on which the Infirmary cases occurred were March 18th, April 9th, May 27th and December 14th. Ophthalmia Neonatorum.—Twenty-six cases of ophthalmia in newly born infants were notified during the year. The results recorded were as follows: — Recovered with unimpaired vision in both eyes - - 21 cases One eye vision impaired—one eye vision normal 1 case Death during course of treatment 2 cases Left district during course of treatment - 2 cases Tuberculosis.—Three hundred persons were notified for the first time as suffering from tuberculosis of the lungs; 129 new patients were notified as suffering from other forms of tuberculosis. Under both heads there has been a considerable drop in the number of notifications received, as compared with previous years. The deaths from consumption or tuberculosis of the lungs numbered 186, from other forms of tuberculosis 54. The mortality from tuberculosis in contrast with number of notifications showed no diminution as will be seen from the following figures : —
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