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VITAL STATISTICS OF LONDON

DURING FEBRUARY, 1921.

IN the accompanying table will be found summarisedstatistics relating to sickness and mortality in the City ofLondon and in each of the metropolitan boroughs. Withregard to the notified cases of infectious diseases, it appearsthat the number of persons reported to be suffering from oneor other of the ten diseases notified in the table was equal toan annual rate of 10’0 per 1000 of the population, estimatedat 4,531,971 persons in the middle of 1920; in the three preced-ing months the rates had been 15’2,11’9, and 10’4 per 1000.Among the metropolitan boroughs the lowest rates fromthese diseases were recorded in Chelsea, the City of West-minster, St. Marylebone, Hampstead, Holborn, and Lambeth ;and the highest in Fulham, Bethnal Green, Poplar,Battersea, and Greenwich. The prevalence of scarlet feverwas about 10 per cent. less than in the preceding month;this disease was proportionally most prevalent in Hammer-smith, Finsbury, Bethnal Green, Stepney, Poplar, South-wark, and Bermondsey. The Metropolitan Asylums Hos-pitals contained 3799 scarlet fever patients at the end ofthe month, against 5508, 4729, and 4112 at the end of the threepreceding months; the weekly admissions averaged 464,against 780, 590, and 489 in the three preceding months.Diphtheria was slightly more prevalent than in the pre-ceding month ; the greatest proportional prevalence of thisdisease was recorded in Paddington, Islington, Shoreditch,Bethnal Green, Battersea, and Greenwich. The number ofdiphtheria patients under treatment in the MetropolitanAsylums Hospitals, which had been 2604, 2615, and 2648 atthe end of the three preceding months, numbered 2766 atthe end of February; the weekly admissions averaged 333, ’I,against 360, 316, and 319 in the three preceding months.The prevalence of enteric fever was appreciably less thanin any of the six preceding months ; of the 14 cases notified ’,during the four weeks ended Feb. 26th, 3 belonged to Stepney,2 to Islington, 2 to Paddington, and 2 Wandsworth. There ’,were 9 cases of enteric fever under treatment in theMetropolitan Asylums Hospitals at the end of the month,against 16, 15, and 11 at the end of the three precedingmonths; the weekly admissions averaged 2, against 3, 2,and 3 in the three preceding months. Erysipelas was pro-portionally most prevalent in Paddington, Fulham, BethnalGreen, Poplar, Southwark, and Deptford. The 25 cases

of puerperal fever included 3 in each of the boroughs ofHammersmith, Islington, Lambeth, and Deptford, 2 in

I’Stepney, and 2 in Poplar. The 17 cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis included 2 in Stepney, 2 in Southwark,

and 2 in Lambeth; while the 2 case of poliomyelitisnotified during the month belonged respectively toHammersmith and Hackney.The mortality statistics in the table relate to the deaths

of civilians actually belonging to the several boroughs, thedeaths occurring in institutions having been distributedamong the boroughs in which the deceased persons hadpreviously resided. During the four weeks ended Feb. 26ththe deaths of 4850 London residents were registered,equal to an annual rate of 14-0 per 1000; in the three pre-ceding months the rates had been 13’1, 14’2, and 12-5 per1000. The death-rates ranged from 11’6 in Camberwelland in Woolwich, 11’8 in Deptford, 12-2 in Wandsworth,and 12-9 in Lambeth, to 16-7 in Bethnal Green, 16-8 inHolborn, 17’1 the City of London, 17’2 in Chelsea, and18’7 in Kensington. The 4850 deaths from all causes

included 250 deaths which were referred to theprincipal infectious diseases; of these, 7 resulted frommeasles, 28 from scarlet fever, 92 from diphtheria,43 from whooping-cough, 1 from enteric fever, and 79from diarrhoea and enteritis among children under 2 yearsof age. No death from any of these diseases was recordedin the City of London. Among the metropolitan boroughsthe lowest death-rates from these diseases were recorded inPaddington, the City of Westminster, Hampstead, Hackney,and Lewisham; and the highest in Kensington, StokeNewington, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Bermondsey,Battersea, and Wandsworth. The 7 deaths from measleswere only one-sixteenth of the average number in thecorresponding period of the five preceding years; of these,4 belonged to Stepney and 2 to Islington. The 28 fatal cases ofscarlet fever exceeded the average by 13; of these, 3 belongedto Bethnal Green, 3 to Wandsworth, and 3 to Woolwich.The 92 deaths from diphtheria exceeded the average numberby 24 ; the greatest proportional mortality from this diseaseoccurred in St. Pancras, Stoke Newington, Poplar, Ber-mondsey, Battersea, Wandsworth, and Greenwich. The 43fatal cases of whooping-cough were 70 fewer than theaverage ; of these, 8 belonged to Islington, 5 to Kensington,4 to Southwark, and 3 each to Lambeth, Battersea, andWandsworth. One death from enteric fever was registeredduring the month, against an average of 4. The 79 fatal casesof infantile diarrhoea were 13 in excess of the averagenumber; the greatest proportional mortality from thisdisease occurred in Chelsea, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green,Southwark, Bermondsey, and Battersea. In conclusion, itmay be stated that the aggregate mortality in Londonduring February from these principal infectious diseases was34 per cent. below the average in the corresponding periodof the five preceding years.

ANALYSIS OF SICKNESS AND MORTALITY STATISTICS IN LONDON DURING FEBRUARY, 1921.(Specíally comvíleàfor THE LANCET.)