View report page

11
Medical Officer's Report.
TYPHOID FEVER.
Daring the year the number of cases notified was 34, including 2 cases of
continued fever, in comparison with 9 in 1898, 25 in 1897, and 30 in 1896.
At least 6 of these were probably contracted by direct infection from previous
cases. Of these, 2 were nurses and 1 a patient at Hospital, and 2 others had
been in attendance on relatives suffering from this disease. In 3 cases there
was good evidence that shellfish might have caused the disease. In ODe case
the patient washed linen at a public wash-house next to a person who was
washing soiled linen from a typhoid patient. Four cases were not contracted
in this District. Of the 34 cases, 9 died. In London there were 4529 cases
of Fever notified and 804 deaths—large increases in comparison with 1898.
MEASLES.
The number of deaths assigned to measles was only 11 in comparison
with 36 last year, and in London 2143, in comparison with 3075 the previous
year.
Disinfection is carried out when possible in those cases that come to
my knowledge, by obtainiag the addresses of patients attended by the
District Medical Officers; also in the cases where death has occurred, as
returned by the Registrar, and in the very few cases reported by the teachers
of schools. All absences from schools on account of illness ought to be
reported to the Medical Officer of Health of the District, and other children
in infected houses prohibited from attending schools. As mentioned in
other reports, notification by the head of the family ought to be compulsory.
WHOOPING COUGH.
The death-rate in Holborn from whooping cough was about the same as
in London. The number of deaths in Holborn was again only 12. All the
deaths were of children under five years of age. The number of deaths in
London was 1720.
The remarks as to disinfection, &c., after measles, apply also to
whooping cough.