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53
rooms occupied by this family of three adults, became dangerously
overcrowded when Mrs. S—(case 1) and her four
children (two of whom were already infected) entered into
joint occupation of them. The remarkable feature of the
outbreak was its fatality, six out of eight (or possibly seven)
adults attacked having perished.
Typhus Fever.— Of this disease one non-fatal case was
notified. The notifications in London, as a whole, were 14,
and the deaths 2 in number.
Simple Continued Fever.— No death was registered
in Kensington from this cause: the notifications were 17.
There was but one death in London, as a whole; 69 cases
were notified.
DIARRHŒA.
Diarrhoea was the cause of 101 deaths, against 61, 125,
and 112, in the three preceding years: 91 in the Town subdistrict,
and 10 in Brompton, the corrected average being 91.
Eighty-one of the deaths took place in the eight weeks ending
September 9th ; 56 and 25 in the two successive four-weekly
periods. These deaths were irrespective of the deaths from
gastro-enteritis, which are now separately classified by the
Registrar-General. The deaths from this cause were 74:
73 of them under five years of age, including 58 in the first
year of life. Ninety-three of the deaths from diarrhoea were
of children under five years, including 84 under one year. In
the report for 1897 (pp. 42-45) I dealt at some length with
the subject of infantile diarrhoea, and have nothing to add to
the remarks on causation, etc., therein set out.
The deaths from diarrhoea in London, as a whole, were
4,196, and 941 above the corrected decennial average. The
high mortality from diarrhoea and gastro enteritis was mainly
due to the effects of the excessive heat of the weather: the
mean temperature in the four weeks ended August 12 was
66°.6 F., and in the four weeks ending September 9, 65°.5
being 4 9 above the decennial average.