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Provision has been made by the Vestry for the accommodation of the other
members of a family in which the disease may have occurred, during the time
their dwelling is being disinfected, and the Poor Law Medical Officers are prepared
to keep their surgeries open day and night, for the treatment of anyone
suffering from diarrhoea.
The simple directions which were issued for the prevention of diarrhoea,
also hold good in the case of cholera. In times when cholera is epidemic, a pure
water supply is of the utmost importance, as wholesale outbreaks of this disease
have been traced to contaminated water. The Hamburg epidemic, in August
and September, 1892, when some 18,000 cases with 8,000 deaths resulted from
drinking the cholera-contaminated water obtained from the Elbe, which had
been imperfectly filtered, is an illustration of this importance.
Enteric Fever.—The number of cases of this disease notified was 111,
an increase of 20 on the number for last year, the number of cases in the parish
during the last four years being as follows:—
Year 1890. 1891. 1892. 1893.
202 111 91 111
The number of deaths was 17, an increase of 5 on that of last year, the
rate per 1,000 inhabitants being 0.12, that of London being 0.17.
The number of deaths per 100 cases notified was 15.3.
Outbreaks of enteric fever are often associated with contamination of the
drinking water. The recent outbreak at Worthing was an example of the
extent to which the disease may be conveyed by a contaminated water supply.
Erysipelas.—The number of cases of this disease notified shows a
considerable increase over that of last year. In 1891, there were 137, in 1892,
243, and in 1893, 315.
Of these 315 cases, 15, or 47 per cent. terminated fatally. The death
rate from this disease per 1,000 inhabitants, was 0.10.
There were 8 cases of puerperal fever notified, of which 5 terminated
fatally, as against 6 deaths from this disease in 1892.
Measles and Whooping Cough.—There was an increase in the number
of deaths from the former and a diminution in the number of deaths from the
latter disease, as compared with the numbers last year.
Taken together, these diseases caused 8 more deaths this year than last.
It will be seen from table A, that the vast majority of the deaths were in
children below the age of 5 years. The death rate per 1000 persons was 1.04.
or more than three times that of scarlatina. In a large proportion of the cases
the supervention of chest disease, which is one of the dangerous complications