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8. The zymotic deaths (excluding those from
diarrhoea) numbered thirty-four—eighteen of them
were from whooping-cough and thirteen from measles.
There were two deaths from membranous croup and
one from scarlet fever.
9. Only seven deaths were returned as from congenital
syphilis, but probably many of the premature
births were due to this cause.
Of late years the frightful waste of infantile life daily
going on in London and other large towns has increasingly
rivetted public attention. This huge
mortality is serious enough in itself, but recent investigations
by Dr. Kerr, the medical officer to the Education
Department of the London County Council, conclusively
prove that the conditions which are responsible
for it are more far-reaching than at first appear.
Maimed and stunted bodies are in many instances the
toll taken by diseases which only just fail to destroy
life.
Infantile mortality varies from year to year, and
Dr. Kerr finds that amongst the children attending
public Elementary schools in London, the average of
the bodily physique and mental activity of those born
in years when infantile mortality is heaviest is distinctly
inferior to that of those born in more favourable years.
The causes of this heavy mortality are not far to
seek—poverty, ignorance and intemperance work out
their natural consequence. As a result of insufficient
means of housing, the infant breathes foul air in overcrowded
rooms. Want of knowledge on the part of
the mother results in improper feeding and clothing,