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21
INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND THE MEASURES TAKEN
TO PREVENT THEIR SPREAD.
It will be seen from Table B that 263 Notification Certificates of
Infectious Illness were received from medical practitioners, as against
248 during the preceding year.
These 263 cases represent infection in 225 different houses.
In 198 instances the disinfection was performed by the Sanitary
Authority, and in the other cases by the householders, to the
satisfaction of their medical attendant. A visit was paid to every
house, and it was ascertained that cases of infectious illness occurred
in 9 houses where there were "grave" sanitary defects, 12 in
which the sanitary defects were "slight," and 204 in which there
were no such defects.
In forming these conclusions I have considered whether any
sanitary defect was of a nature which is generally held by health
officers to predispose to, or directly bring about, the particular disease
in question.
Thus, apart from the measures that have been taken to prevent
the spread of infectious illness, the notification of such illness was
the means during the year of bringing about a sanitary inspection of
225 premises.
Table B 1 shows the number of cases, and of deaths, from the
Infectious Diseases notified during the years 1892-9; and Table B 2
the cases of Infectious Diseases notified during each month of the
year 1899. It will be noted that there was a marked reduction in
the number of cases of sickness from Diphtheria, but an increase in
the sickness from Scarlet Fever and Puerperal Fever when the years
1898 and 1899 are compared.
The Infectious Sickness Rate of the Parish was 7.6 to each
1,000 of the population, as against 7.2 for the preceding year, and
6.7 for 1897.