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when it is remembered that cows' milk or tinned milk are the
most common substitutes for mother's milk. The risks from
contamination which cows' milk undergoes (and to a lesser
extent, perhaps, tinned milk) in its passage from the farm to
the home, are innumerable. Milk is an excellent pabulum for
the growth of pathogenic organisms, hence the great importance
of protecting it from pollution.
Other factors contributing to a high incidence and mortality
from diarrhœa are overcrowding and poverty, employment of
the mother away from home, and last, but unfortunately by no
means least, ignorance. The influence of environment is very
marked on the mortality from diarrhœa, as is apparent in the
death-rate in East and North-West Battersea as compared with
South-West Battersea.
The preventive methods employed in Battersea aim at the
removal of the conditions which are favourable to the disease.
First and foremost, the importance of breast-feeding cannot
be over-estimated. By visiting the homes where births occur,
the Health Visitor endeavours to induce the mothers to feed the
baby on the breast. Should this be impossible, then on pure,
modified cows' milk. Instruction in the right methods of rearing
children. General methods of sanitation, such as the
proper cleansing of streets, courts, and alleys, and the maintenance
of cleanliness and good sanitary conditions in houses
and tenements are not overlooked. The paving of side streets
with impervious material, which the Council started in 1905,
has, in my opinion, proved most useful, and might with advantage
be considerably extended.
Lastly, there are the Infants' Milk Depot and the Weighing
Room or Milk Clinic, which are dealt with in another part of
this Report.
Tuberculosis
During 1907 304 deaths from Tuberculosis were registered
in the Borough of Battersea. Of this number 219 (72 per
cent.) were due to phthisis (tuberculosis of the lungs), 35 to