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11
or carried by flies, and thus contaminates food, leading to other cases in the same house and
neighbourhood. It has been long known that there is a close connection between the heat and
dryness of the summer, the height to which the temperature of the earth attains 3 or 4 feet
below the surface, and the occurrence of diarrhoea. These conditions, as one time supposed, are
not the direct cause, but act as factors favouring the growth and propagation of the specific
cause above-mentioned.
An examination of appended Table H. illustrates this point very well. The temperature
and rainfall here are the mean of each week during the diarrhoea period. Taking the air
temperature first it is evident that the summer of 1904 was much hotter than 1903, and this
contrast is much more marked in the 3-foot thermometer. A glance at the rainfall is also
sufficient to show the difference between the two years in that respect. Wet acts in a double
way, firstly, by flushing and keeping the streets more or less damp ; and secondly, by keeping
down the temperature. The former is probably the more important function.
TABLE H.
Weeks.
Deaths from
Diarrhoea.
Temperature of
the Air.
Temperature of
ground 3 feet below
surface.
Rainfall.
1903.
1903.
1904.
1904.
1903.
1904.
1903.
1904.
July
0
0
0
0
ins.
ins.
67.1
61.39
0.04
10
60.5
63.58
3.18
3
61.07
1.52
1.83
10
58.6
65.4
64.23
6
August
0.35
0.08
61.2
68.1
60.70
64.53
3
25
59.5
60.87
2.11
0.06
61.0
64.62
2
20
58.3
0.47
59.5
60.49
63.26
1.11
8
29
1.23
0.22
58.1
57.6
59.83
61.58
5
23
September
62.9
61.0
60.69
61.37
0.86
1.01
6
17
53.7
57.0
60.53
60.57
0.55
0.36
9
8
57.98
0.01
51.7
56.4
59.29
0.24
4
5
0.20
59.3
53.6
57.87
58.13
0.22
7
9
59.3
52.1
58.72
56.72
0.81
0.14
6
5
October
54.9
50.3
58.33
56.03
1.05
0.86
9
1
1.39
52.0
47.8
56.44
54.46
0.02
6
6
54.9
0.43
2
49.3
54.80
53.74
0.60
3
Weekly average
57.1
58.0
59.26
60.15
0.42
5
1.06
12
In Table I. confirmation of these views can be seen in that breast-fed children are much
less frequently attacked than those artificially so. The reason is obviously that the milk in the
former is not open to contamination to anything like the same extent as in the case of the
latter. I hope in the future to see some improvement in the diarrhoea mortality from the
instructions on infant feeding, but education in these matters is slow, and too much must not
be expected at first.
TABLE I.—DEATHS FROM DIARRHCEA.
Year.
Cases
Inquired
into.
State of Premises.
Family.
Method of Feeding.
Overcrowding.
Good.
Fair.
Clean and
Careful.
Dirty and
Improvident.
Breast.
Artificially.
Partialy
by Both
Methods.
Defective.
1901
74
49
23
2
4
59
-
70
13
2
1902
40
21
18
1
1
37
3
6
33
1
1903
40
15
22
3
38
8
29
2
3
-
1904
115
55
54
6
101
14
16
82
17
-
23
43
203
23
1
Total
269
140
117
12
246
Tubercular Diseases.
The number of deaths due to all forms of tubercular diseases in 1904 was 350, against
363 in 1903.
This figure comprises 226 for Bermondsey, 89 for Rotherhithe, and 35 for St. Olave's.,
Of the 350, 257 were due to phthisis, and 93 to other tubercular diseases, that is, there was an
excess of 36 deaths from the former over those in 1903, but 7 less than the average during the
last ten years, and a decrease of 49 in tubercular diseases other than phthisis, compared with
the number in 1903.
Phthisis.
In Table J will be found particulars of deaths of phthisis since the year 1894; 257
deaths occurred from this cause, which is an excess of 36 over 1903.