View report page

housing. 7 5

* Rates per 1,000 persons.
The vital statistics of the "Area" (Table 49) do not show a continuance of the improvement
recorded last year. There was increased morbidity from diphtheria and enteric fever,
but decreased from erysipelas and scarlet fever. The mortality at all ages rose from 23.08 to
30.04 per 1,000; that at ages under 10 years from 32.11 to 50.96, and that at ages 10 years
and upwards from 18.88 to 20.17. The infantile mortalitv increased from 173 to 220. The
greater mortality was mainly due to measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough, bronchitis, and
pneumonia. Increased mortality from the two last-named diseases is always noted when
measles and whooping cough are prevalent. From those four causes there were 24 more
deaths (at all ages) during 1909 than in 1908, that increase being equivalent to a mortalityrate
of 3.69 per 1,000. Inasmuch as the primary diseases—measles and whooping cough—
are specially diseases of childhood, it is but fair to assume that nearly the whole of the
increase fell on children under 10 years of age. The 24 deaths would be equivalent to a rate
of 11.5 per 1,000. The deaths from scarlet fever numbered 5 last year (2 in 1908), and those
from diarrhoea 11 (7 in 1908). It may therefore be concluded that the marked increase in the
mortality last year was more of an accident than due to deterioration of the condition of
the area.