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65
[1907
Owing to the prevalence of Measles among the scholars, class-rooms in
the following schools were closed and disinfected.
1st Quarter.
Gifford Street L.C.C School.
2nd Quarter.
Blackstock Road L.C.C. School.
3rd Quarter.
Ecclesbourne Road L.C.C. School.
4th Quarter.
Arlington Square L.C.C. School.
St. John's Schools (Upper Holloway).
Whittington L.C.C. School.
Canonbury Road L.C.C. School.
The Ages at Death from Measles:—Of the 130 deaths, all, with the exception
of 4 were among children under 5 years of age, 27 of whom had not reached the
end of their first year of life. An examination of the returns shows that the
disease was not equally fatal to infants under a year old in each quarter. Thus
in the first 50 per cent. were infants, in the second 14 per cent., in the third
25 per cent., and in the fourth 23 per cent.
The numbers analysed here being
only for one year, the Medical Officer of Health has examined the returns for
the several quarters during the ten years 1898-1907, which embraced 1,645
deaths from Measles, and has extracted the following figures from them:—
Infant
Deaths.
All
Deaths.
ntage of
Infant Deaths.
1st Quarter
117
530
22.0
2nd „
131
568
23.1
3rd „
64
251
25.5
4th „
53
296
17.9
Totals
365
1,645
22.2
These results completely alter the figures as shown when only a single
year was taken, and thereby show the fallacy, when dealing with vital statistics,
of basing any conclusions on the results of so short a period and on small
numbers. Here we see that the most fatal period for very young children
attacked with measles is the third quarter of the year, or at the season when
the weather is warm and bright. It is hard to explain this circumstance,
because as a rule pneumonia and bronchitis, two of the secondary causes of
death in measles, are least fatal to them in this quarter. It would be interesting
to inquire into the cause, but it is impossible, just now at all events, to
pursue the subject further.