View report page

64
Medical Officers of Health Annual Report.
Influenza.
Five deaths were registered under this head.
Although prevalent to a considerable extent,
the type of the disease was certainly very much milder
than during the epidemic of 1895.
Diarrhoea.
This disease was the cause of most of the
deaths which occurred from zymotic causes.
19 of these cases were children under one year of age.
Most of them were doubtless caused by insufficient care in
dieting.
Deaths from Non-Zymotic Diseases.
200 deaths were caused by these diseases—an increase
by two on those of the previous year.
Cancer and
other Tumours.
Eighteen deaths were registered under this
heading—the highest number yet recorded.
In my former report I have drawn attention to the fact
that there has been a tendency for the mortality from
Cancer to gradually increase. The number of deaths
registered from this cause during 1897 was three times
greater than the number registered during 1889.
Phthisis.
The reverse condition has taken place in
respect of Phthisis. During the last nine
years the number of deaths from Phthisis and other
tubercular disease reached the maximum in 1890, when
the number of deaths registered was 31. During 1897
the number was reduced to 17. This is very gratifying.
I think there can be no doubt, that the sanitary improvements
of recent years, in regard to over-crowding and
removal of all nuisances, have had a controlling effect in
the extension of these diseases.
Nervous
Diseases.
The number of deaths under this heading
remained very much as before and calls for
no special comment.