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21
Whooping Cough.
Whooping Cough was the cause of 81 deaths, the average number
for the preceding seven years being 54. Of these, 42 were of children
under one year of age, and 37 of children between one and five. The
death-rates for Fulham and London from this disease were 0.77 and
0.54 respectively. As usual it was most prevalent in the early months
of the year, attaining its maximum fatality in April, when there were
19 deaths from it. Although the case mortality of Whooping Cough
is low the disease kills more than any other Zymotic disease, except
Diarrhoea. Unfortunately it is always looked upon as a very trivial
ailment and comparatively little care is taken of the sufferers who
generally succumb to one of the pulmonary complications of the
disease.
Diarrhcea.
Under the heading Diarrhcea are included several different affections
confounded with one another on account of the presence of
Diarrhcea as a symptom, but there is no doubt that Summer Diarrhcea
which is so fatal to young children is essentially a specific disease.
One hundred and thirty-three deaths were registered from Diarrhcea
(the average number for the previous seven years being 92), 110 of
which occurred in the four months from June to September.
109 of the deaths were of children under one year of age, the
disease being the assigned cause of death in 16 per cent. of those
dying at that age from all causes.
In addition to these the deaths of 31 infants ascribed to GastroEnteritis
and Gastro Enteric Catarrh were probably of the same
nature.
The death-rate from this disease was 1.2 per 1000 living, a rate
nearly double that for London, which was 0.7, and above that obtaining
in any of the Metropolitan Sanitary Districts with the exception of
Shoreditch and St. George's-in-the-East.
This is by no means satisfactory, as of all the factors which contribute
to the prevalence of Diarrha filth is the most potent, and the
majority of cases of Summer Diarrhœa probably arise from filth
infection, of which the vehicle is the food administered to the infant.
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