London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Bethnal Green 1909

Report on the sanitary condition and vital statistics during the year 1909 together with the report of the Chief Sanitary Inspector

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forms of intestinal trouble variously described as
Enteritis, Muco-enteritis and Gastro-enteritis. Ninetytwo
of the homes of the sufferers from these diseases
were visited by Miss Harris, Sanitary Inspector, and as
a result of her enquiries it was found that of the
seventy-three who died from acute diarrhoea, thirteen
were entirely breast fed and fifteen others partly so.
Thirty-five were hand fed and five others, who died in
hospital, were breast fed until admission. In four
instances no information could be obtained as the
parents could not be traced.
Ten infants (all over nine months of age) had been
having much the same diet as the remainder of the
family. The bowel trouble in one instance followed
a meal of fried fish, and in another of sheep's brains.
Eight of the hand fed infants had been fed exclusively
upon condensed milk, and sixteen had cow's milk.
Nineteen of the enteritis cases were visited, three
were breast fed, and one other partly so; four had
cow's milk and one condensed; particulars of the remainder
could not be obtained as the parents were
not found at the address given. In only one instance
was a feeding bottle with a long tube acknowledged.
Fifteen of the mothers were found to go out to
work, mostly to casual employments, such as charing
and street hawking. Five were out-workers and did
box-making, tailoring and nursery shoe-making at
home. The sanitary condition of most of the houses
was fairly good; notices were served where defects
were found.