View report page

while in the last there were only 61. I have already alluded, in
dealing with the marked reduction in the general rate, to the
healthy effect of the weather on the youthful division of the
community, especially in the third quarter. The Registrar-General
in his annual report gives a comparative table in which he deals
with the infantile mortality, the rainfall, and the earth temperature
since 1870, and points out the fact that a cool summer means a low
infantile death-rate, which in its turn brings down the general
average. It appears, however, that there must be another factor or
factors whose influences have recently been more effective. For
example, in 1879, in 1888 and 1902, the average earth's temperature
was nearly identical with that of the past year, and with also the
additional advantage, from the health point of view, of an excessive
amount of rain, yet the infantile mortality in the third quarter
in each of these particular years was considerably higher than
1907.
There were 1,572 notifications of scarlet fever, that is, over
400 more than last year, the increased prevalence being most noticeable
in North and South Peckham. As is shown by the number of
deaths, the type of illness was very mild, and judging from the
number of attacks of a type suspicious of this disease that have come
to my knowledge, without having been notified, I am inclined to
think that the amount of prevalence much exceeds that which has
come to our notice.
Thirty-seven fatal results were recorded, being 12 more than
in 1906. Very careful inquiries were made as to the evidence of any
infecting focus in the schools, and also whether an infected milk
supply might not account for the increase, but there was no evidence
to indicate that either of these agencies was at work.
Compared with scarlet fever there was only a moderate increase
in diphtheria, there being only 72 more notifications than in the
past year, and the number of deaths was the same, viz., 40. The
greater incidence, in the year under review, was in the age groups
1 to 5 and 5 to 15. So far as localities are concerned, North and
South Peckham and Dulwich suffered more severely than the rest.
The infants' department of a North Camberwell school was closed in
October last year on account of the positive result of a bacteriological
examination of some throats of those who were attending that
department. Several of these children were subsequently notified to
us as suffering from diphtheria, in some cases to the surprise and
disgust of the parents who, in the absence of clinical signs, refused
to admit the diagnosis. Every year it becomes increasingly certain
that a systematic examination of swabs taken from school children
even when only sore throats have been prevalent, will often
result in the discovery of specific infection by the diphtheria bacillus,
an infection which, if not promptly and thoroughly dealt with, is
likely to spread to all susceptible at the moment, who are actually
in attendance.
Of enteric fever we received intimation of 82 cases, an increase
of 24 on the last year. The incidence on the South Peckham district
vii