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51
The difficulties in the way of keeping small tenements clean and
of preventing them from becoming over-crowded, not only with
persons, but with articles of furniture, etc., which harbour dust,
are well known.
INFECTION.—The fact that epidemic diarrhoea may be acquired
from an already infected person is not generally recognised. In
1908 it was distinctly proved that in at least 5 out of the 55 investigated
cases (9 per cent) infection bad taken place
in this way. The Council's Women Inspectors are continually
impressing this upon the mothers visited in the Borough, and urging
upon them the necessity of absolute cleanliness and of always washing
the hands after attending to an infected child.
In anticipation of the diarrhoea season, the following handbill
was prepared early in the year, and large numbers were distributed
by the Inspectors:—
METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF FINSBURY.
Public Health Department,
Rosebery Avenue, E.C.
SUMMER DIARRHŒA.
Every summer, during the warm weather, many hundreds of
babies get sickness and diarrhœa and very many die.
This illness is nearly always caused by wrong feeding, and
bottle-fed babies mostly suffer.
With care, mothers can keep babies from catching the disease,
and if they do take it, can do much to help them.
I. What to do to keep Sickness and Diarrhœa a away.
1. Feed baby on the Breast.
2. Do not wean baby during July, August or September.
3. If baby must be fed on the bottle, do not use a tube
bottle.
4. Only use a clean glass bottle with a teat over the neck.
5. Boil baby's milk as soon as it is taken in from the
milkman, and keep it covered.
6. Only make one feed at a time.