View report page

16
SPECIFIC CAUSES OF DEATH.
Specific Febrile or Zymotic Diseases.—The deaths from
specific infectious diseases, both notifiable and not notifiable,
numbered during the year 533, against 504 during the year 1901.
This gives a zymotic mortality of 2.4 per 1,000 living. The zymotic
death-rate for all London for the same periods was 2.23 per 1,000.
A.—NOTIFIABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Small-Pox.—This disease, which was introduced into Hackney in
the month of July, 1901, spread very rapidly during the early months
of 1902, reaching its height at the end of March, after which it
gradually declined until the end of July, when the disease practically
disappeared from the district. The total number of cases notified
during 1902 numbered 418, of these 22 were cases of mistaken
diagnosis. This gives an attack rate of 1.7 per 1,000 living. Of the
number notified there were 71 deaths. This is equivalent to j
mortality of nearly 18 per cent, notified, and 0'3 per L,000 living
persons.
At this stage, I think it will be desirable to give a brief report ol
the whole course of the epidemic of small-pox as it affected the
Hackney district. The disease, in connection with the recent
epidemic, first made its appearance in the Borough of Hackney, in
the month of July, 1901. Two cases were notified on the 1st of
July. These cases certainly arose from infected articles cleaned at a
laundry; for one of the infected persons was a sorter of dirty linen,
and the other was the carman employed in collecting the dirty linen
at a local laundry. These two cases gave rise to five subsequent
cases in their own families. After these there was a pause in the
notification of small-pox until August, during which month several
cases were notified, having been infected from other sources which
could not be definitely ascertained. The epidemic did not assume in
Hackney very serious proportions during 1901. The following chart
shows the notifications received week by week through the whole