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147
HACKNEY BOROUGH COUNCIL.
prevention of infantile or summer diarrhŒa.
Infantile Diarrhœa is a very serious and fatal form of illness
occurring during the hot months of the year (July, August, September),
chiefly affecting infants under one year old. The disease
is more common in towns than in rural districts.
Many circumstances, of which the following are the chief,
favour its prevalence, most of these being preventable.
Circumstances Favouring the Prevalence of Infantile
Diarrhœa.
(а) Heat and Dryness of the Atmosphere. Where a hot summer
is combined with a small rainfall, summer diarrhœa will
be present in excess. Whereas, on the contrary, a cool,
wet summer brings this disease to its lowest point.
(b) Density of Population and Dwellings with Overcrowding.
These conditions, either singly or combined, are always
found associated with a high diarrhœal death rate.
(c) Darkness and Dirtiness of Dwellings. These are other
conditions which promote a high death rate from summer
diarrhœa.
(d) Want of Ventilation through and about the Dwellings.
The want of ventilation gives rise to a "fusty" smell
which is most unhealthy and is productive of an increase
in summer diarrhma.
(e) Offensive Smells, in or about the House, from Decomposing
Organic Matter, Animal or Vegetable (such as frequently
arise from foul dustbins, drains, w.c.'s, yards, &c.) favour
the disease.
(f) Surface Pollutions of Streets, Courts, Alleys, &c. The
fouling of the surface soil by horse manure and other
organic filth is also a powerful cause of summer diarrhœa.
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