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fever rose from 311 to 360. The notifications of influenzal
and primary pneumonia were 310 in number
in 1927, compared with 288 in 1926. On the other
hand there was a considerable fall in the figures for
tuberculosis (see page 45). Erysipelas notifications numbered
58 in 1927 compared with 77 in the previous
year, and cases of infantile diarrhoea fell from 35 to 14.
The number of cases of infectious diseases of the nervous
system, of which 23 were notified in 1926, dropped to
15 in 1927. These included 7 cases of cerebro-spinal
meningitis, 5 of encephalitis lethargica (sleepy sickness)
and 3 of polio-myelitis or infantile paralysis.
Mortality from Infectious Disease.—There were 354
deaths from notifiable diseases in 1927 compared with
425 in 1926. Whereas 47 children, all under 10 years
of age, died of measles in 1926, there were no deaths
from this cause in 1927.
Although the notifications of diphtheria and scarlet
fever increased in number in 1927, the deaths were
fewer; 14 deaths were due to diphtheria in 1926 and
11 in 1927, while four persons died of scarlet fever in
1926 compared with one in 1927.
There were 7 deaths from infectious diseases of the
nervous system (cerebro-spinal meningitis and encephalitis
lethargica) compared with 8 in 1926.
Eight children died of whooping cough, five of whom
were infants under one year, while the other three were
all under 3 years of age.
Diphtheria.
Notifications of Diphtheria.—Three hundred and
ninety notifications were received during 1927, which
was equal to a case incidence of 2.4 per thousand of
the population.
The two sexes were affected in the proportion of
211 cases in females to 179 in males.