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6 sickness.
Summonses were issued during the year with respect to l6 failures to comply with the
Act. (See Legal Proceedings).
Some account of the work undertaken in connection with the births of children will be
found under Infant Rearing.
SICKNESS.
The cases of infectious disease reported during the past year in pursuance of Section 55
of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, numbered 942 (allowance being made for duplicate
certificates only), and were 28 fewer than in the previous year. Table 4 shows that there
were increases in the number of cases of diphtheria (31) and erysipelas (1) and decreases in
those of all the other diseases. Comparing last year's morbidity rates with those for the
quinquennium 1904-8, the only diseases showing a prevalence above the average are
diphtheria (rate last year 1.14 per 1,000; mean, 0.95), and scarlet fever (rate, 1909,4.15;
mean, 3.49). The rates from enteric and puerperal fevers show satisfactory reductions, that
in the former case being really better than it appears, as will be seen later.

* Per 1,000 persons all ages.
For the purpose of comparisons with the Metropolis and the districts circumjacent to
the Borough, the figures given by the Registrar-General in his Quarterlv Reports are used.
(See Table 5). In Paddington and Westminster only were the rates from diphthcrin above
the respective means, but of last year's rates those recorded in the Metropolis (1.38),
Westminster (1.33) and Willesden (1.29) were above the local rate (1.21). All the rates from
erysipelas were below the means, and in three districts last year's rates were below that of
Paddington (0.69), viz., Westminster (0.00), Hampstead (0.31) and Willesden (0.59). Of the
scarlet fever rates, only those in the Metropolis and Hampstead were below the quinquennial
means, the local rate (4"14) being the highest noted in the past year. In Kensington only
did the rate from enteric fever exceed the mean, while of last year's rates those of Westminster
(0.14), Marylebone and Hampstead (0'16 in each case) were below that for the Borough
(0.19). With the exception of that in Hampstead all the rates from puerperal fever were
below the means, last year's rates in the Borough (0.01) being the lowest of the series.