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80
1897
that the County Council relief sewer which runs through the district
has had a very serious deposit in it, and that many hundred tons of
sewage hare been removed from it. Men had been engaged on its,
shall we say repair?—for it has been denied that there is anything
wrong with it—for nearly two years, and they were so engaged up to three
months ago, and curiously enough as they proceeded with their work
so this disease decreased in Upper Holloway, but more particularly
in those streets which abut on Holloway Road, in which this sewer is
laid. In Upper Holloway Ward only 77 cases were known, whereas in
1896 there were 177 notified.
The number of cases known in the Wards for the several years
between 1891 and the present time have been as shown in Table L in
Appendix.
The weekly returns from the disease were generally above the
average of the preceding years in the first quarter, but in the second
quarter an improvement took place, so that from that time to the end
of the year notifications were as a rule below the weekly mean. Indeed,
it was only on six occasions that they exceeded it. (Vide Chart p. 79.)
An extraordinary circumstance about the Diphtheria cases notified
was, that the fatality (16.1 per cent.) was lower than in any previous
year, being 7.4 below the average of the preceding six years. Even if
the deaths from Membranous Croup be taken into consideration, the
proportion of fatal cases is only raised to 17.8 per cent. It kept very
low during the second and third quarters, while during the first and
fourth quarters it was considerably under the record of the corresponding
quarters for six years.
1st Quarters. 2nd Quarters. 3rd Quarters. 4th Quarters, Years.
1897.
6
years.
1897.
6
years.
1897.
6
years
1897.
6
years.
1897.
6
years.
Cases 218 920 153 1,050 155 1,318 174 1.446 700 4,730
Deaths 40 238 21 249 24 273 30 329 115 1,089
Fatality 18.3 25.9 13.7 23.7 15.5 20.7 17. 2 22.8 16.4 23.0