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Chickenpox.—One death was ascribed to this disease during
1909.
Diarrhœa.—This disease is most prevalent during the summer
months and exercises a great influence upon the death-rate. It is
more prevalent in proportion as the summer temperature rises, and
is regarded as being chiefly dependent upon surface pollutions of
organic matter, which obtains access to articles of food either by
the agency of flies or by currents of air, or conveyance by uncleanly
habits. The measures which should be adopted to lessen this
disease are those which aim at the prevention or removal of surface
pollution. Amongst the chief of these measures is the periodical
removal of filth from the streets, especially the droppings of
animals, etc., and the periodical removal of all refuse from dwelling
houses and their neighbourhood. These measures are especially
necessary in the poorer and more densely populated parts of the
Borough—the parts with narrow streets and houses occupied by
the poor—because summer diarrhoea is most prevalent in such places.
The introduction of motor traction and the substitution of
electric trams for horse traction in the Borough, in so far as these
supplant horses as motor agents, will in the future act, and are now
no doubt acting in the reduction of summer diarrhoea, by
diminishing the surface pollution of the streets caused by horses.
This disease was registered as the cause of 74 deaths
in Hackney during 1909, and of these 52 were under the
age of one year. The total shows a decline of 79 upon the number
of deaths registered during 1908. In addition to the diarrhoea
deaths there were 45 deaths from enteritis. The mortality
rate from diarrhoea is .31 per 1,000 persons living. The mortality
r ate for London for the same period is .33 per 1,000 persons living.
The distribution of the deaths from diarrhœa may be seen
on next page.