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infant's eyes should be carefully examined, and if the eyelids
show any redness or swelling, or if there is any discharge from
the eyes, a doctor should be immediately sent for, and his
instructions carefully followed. In the meantime the affected
eye or eyes of the infant should be gently washed, plain cold
water and soft rag or cotton wool being used for this purpose.
The rag or wool must not be used more than once and must
then be burnt. The same piece of rag or wool must not be
used for both eyes. Care must also be taken by the nurse,
midwife, or other person attending to the infant, not to allow
any discharge to get into her own eyes, because this discharge
is extremely infectious.
No instance of permanent damage to the eyes has resulted in
any of the cases notified, nor in any of those cases of inflammation
of the eyes reported by the medical inspectors of the London
County Council.
Glanders, Anthrax and Hydrophobia in Man.—No case of these
diseases occurred in Hackney during the year amongst human
beings.
B.—Non-notifiable Infectious Diseases.
Influenza.—During the year 24 deaths were registered as due
to this disease. This is a decline of 10 on the number registered
during 1910. The death-rate from influenza for 1911 is therefore
.11 per 1,000 living, and that for all London .11 per 1,000
living.
Diarrhoea.—This was the cause of 184 deaths, of which 169
were amongst persons under 5 years of age. This is an increase of
138 deaths from this cause over the number registered during 1910.
There were also 41 deaths ascribed to enteritis, of which 38 were
amongst children under 5 years of age. The annual mortality rate
for 1911 from diarrhoea is 8.2 per 1,000 living.