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District.
17
Practically, the difficulty in diagnosis is certainly one
main reason why the efforts used to check its spread are
not more successful.
Enteric Fever.—There were 21 deaths, 18 at home and
3 in hospitals. There were 128 cases notified, an increase
on previous years. The mortality was 16.3 per cent.
There were also 13 cases of continued fever notified, with
1 death.
Puerperal Fever. — Of the 19 cases notified, 13 died, a
considerable mortality, and probably largely preventable.
Erysipelas.—243 cases were notified. There were 14
deaths.
Measles caused 82 deaths, a larger number than in any
year since 1890. There was apparently a good deal of
measles in 1891. It is impossible to doubt that many of
these children's lives might have been saved by proper
care, as they nearly all resulted from lung complications
as the result of a chill added to the measles. As it is not
the custom among the poorer classes, where all these
deaths occur, to seek medical advice in measles, unless
the child gets ill from bronchitis or pneumonia, it would
be a valuable step for all who come in contact with the
poor to try to teach them to take common care of their
children while suffering from this dangerous disorder.
Sometimes children are not kept in bed at all, and if they
are it is only for a day or two and then they are allowed
to play about in the streets to the great risk of themselves
and others.
II hooping Cough resulted in 54 deaths. This is a small
figure compared with previous years, and is remarkable
because there is usually a close association between epidemics
of measles and whooping cough.
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