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ANNUAL REPORT
of the
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
The Health Statistics of the Parish of St. Mary,
Newington, for the year 1899.
I have to record a year of very active work in all sanitary matters.
The death-rate for 1899 will be seen to be not quite so favourable
as that for the last few years. Many causes have contributed to
this increase. Whooping Cough and Measles were more than
usually prevalent. The hot summer was accompanied by a heavy
mortality from Diarrhoea in Infants. Throughout, I may say, the
whole of the year Diphtheria was present amongst us in an
excessive quantity, whilst in the autumn months Enteric Fever was
both very prevalent for our parish and very fatal. The sanitary
condition of the parish generally must be admitted by those
acquainted with this subject, to be steadily improving year by year.
There are certain parts of the parish in which the interior of the
houses is not quite so clean as could be wished, yet by a little more
energy we hope the homes of even the very dirty of our people
may be made sweeter and less depressing.