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14
The Registrar-General states that 45 deaths were due to pneumonia; we
have particulars of only the 37 which were registered as such.
The conditions under which many residents travel to and from Town are
not conducive to public health. At certain times of the day, all means of transit
are badly overcrowded; this is undoubtedly a cause of many respiratory
infections, including influenza, pneumonia and the common cold. Seats facing
one another are also unhygienic, especially with the narrow interval that exists
in railway carriages. The modern 'bus from this point of view, is built on
correct lines.
Scarlet Fever.—This disease which has been prevalent since 1919,
shews a welcome decline.
The total number of notifications from 1919 to 1922 inclusive is 1648, the
total deaths for the same 4 years being 22.
Efforts have been made in every case to trace the source of infection, that
is to say, the previous case; this has, in the vast majority of cases, given a
negative result. It is probable that anomalous cases are responsible for the
spread of infection.

In 1921, I showed that the average number of residents in houses infected
with scarlet fever and diphtheria—749 in all—was 7; the census figures for
that year was 5.5. The corresponding figure for 1923 for scarlet fever alone is
6.6 per house and for diphtheria alone is 8.1 per house.