View report page

27
WHOOPING-COUGH.
Deaths, 44. (Decennial average, 43.3.)
All these deaths, with the exception of two, were
amongst young children aged less than five years, a mortality
of 2.37 per thousand on the census population of
young children. Eleven of the deaths occurred at home
and the remaining thirty-three in hospitals.
DIARRHŒA.
Deaths, 73. (Decennial average, 112.3.)
The deaths from Diarrhoea were fewer by 52 than in
the previous year, and equalled a mortality of 3.0 per
thousand births.
MEASLES.
Deaths, 19. (Decennial average, 76.1.)
Measles was prevalent, but the mortality fell much
below the average, the deaths being 86 fewer than in
1915. All the deaths except one were amongst young
children under five years of age, and formed a mortality
rate amongst such children of 1.0 per thousand.
In addition to the formal notifications required by
law, between two and three hundred cases of measles
were reported to us by School Authorities. All these
were visited, and though the larger proportion were found
to be not suffering from Measles, yet we were enabled
to trace a number of cases in which the responsible
person had failed to obey the law. In each of these
instances a cautionary letter was written, pointing out the
penalty incurred for failure to notify. In nearly every
instance ignorance of the law was pleaded, and this not-