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anticipated that the experience of former years would have
been repeated, and in view of the expected increased incidence
of infectivie diarrhœa, special precautionary measures to meet
any emergency were sanctioned by the Health Committee.
These included a mapping out of the district into areas, and
plans for a concentration of effort upon those areas which previous
experience had shown most needed attention. For each of
these areas a Health Visitor was made responsible, and provision
made for medical and nursing assistance and such other
measures as were required to deal with any threatened epidemic
prevalence.
It is probable that the use of dried milk which, in connection
with the Maternity and Child Welfare scheme has
become so extensive, has contributed, to some extent at least,
to diminish the risk of summer diarrhœa. Dried milk is
better than dirty milk, and until the Legislature has thought fit
to safeguard adequately the purity of the milk supply of the
country, dried milk provides, at any rate, a cleanly substitute.
There can be little doubt that the educational value of the
Maternity and Child Welfare scheme of the Council has played
and continues to play a most important part in the protection
of child life not only from diarrhœa, but also from other fatal
diseases of infancy. Whatever the explanation, the death
returns from diarrhœal disease during 1921 are a gratifying
feature of the vital and morbid statistics of the Borough.
Measles and German Measles.
During 1921, 155 cases of measles and German measles
were reported, principally from the public elementary schools,
and 2 deaths from measles were registered, as compared with
45 deaths in 1920.
Whooping Cough.
During 1921 there were 30 deaths registered from whooping
cough in the Borough, the death-rate being 0·18. The corresponding
figures for 1920 were 33 deaths and a death-rate of
0·20. The total number of cases reported by the school
authorities was 576.