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For the second year in succession there was no death in London from this cause, the corrected
decennial average being 178. The cases notified were 4, compared with 492, 74, and 31
in the preceding three years.
MEASLES.
Measles was the cause of 31 deaths, compared with 67, 54, and 81, in the three preceding years
successively: 26 and 5 in the Town and Brompton sub-districts respectively; the corrected
decennial average being 70. Thirty of the deaths were of children under five years of age,
including 5 in the first year of life.
The lady sanitary inspectors visited all cases reported by school teachers, 528 in number; the
schools in connection with which cases were reported were 31; the aggregate of cases in nine
schools (ranging from 22, upwards to 76) was 379; in six schools (ranging from 10 to 19) 81;
in the remaining 16 schools there were 67 cases. The largest numbers occurred in connection with
Wornington Road C.C. School, 76; Oxford Gardens C.C., and St. John's (Church) Schools, 56
each; Sirdar Road C.C. School, 46; and Edinburgh Road C.C. School, 44. In addition to the cases
reported by school teachers, other 118 were found in the 521 houses visited. Of the total cases
(646 in 536 families in 521 houses), 251 were of children under five years; 460 belonged to three
wards—St. Charles 155, Golborne 156, Norland 149—the population of which is approximately
73,320; and 186 to the remaining six wards—population 107,180. An advisory leaflet was left
with each family visited, calling attention to the serious nature of the disease—a fact which
appears to be better recognised than formerly. But even now it is no uncommon thing to find
mothers visiting friends with young children in their arms, at houses where measles exists, with
the not unexpected result of a spread of the disease; the imprudence being justified by them
on the ground that the children must have it at some time—which is by no means necessary.
Moreover, as nearly all deaths from measles occur under five years, it follows that if a child is
attacked after that age, the risk of a fatal result is almost negligible. No effort, therefore, should
be spared to postpone the date of attack. Disinfection was carried out at 83 houses.
The deaths from measles in London, as a whole, were 1,810, and approximately 409 below
the corrected decennial average (2,219).
SCARLET FEVER
The notified cases of scarlet fever were 522, compared with 262, 332 and 463, in the preceding
three years; 345 in North Kensington and 177 in South Kensington. The deaths were 9 (a casemortality
of 1.7 per cent.) and 7 below the corrected decennial average (16). All took place at
outlying public institutions, to which 485 cases were removed. The deaths in the preceding three
years had been 5, 21, and 11, respectively.
The deaths in London, as a whole, 644, were approximately 112 in excess of the corrected
decennial average: 629 of them (97.7 per cent.) took place in public institutions: the casemortality
was 2.8 per cent. The cases notified during the year were 25,936, compared with 13,439
19,467, and 20,343, in the preceding three years respectively. The case-mortality was 2.5 per cent.
on notifications, compared with 2.7, 2.8, and 2.6, in the preceding three years. The admissions
to hospitals were 23,208, compared with 11,401, 17,230, and 18,316, in the preceding three years, and
equal to 94.1 per cent. on cases notified. At the close of the year there were 4,999 cases remaining
in hospital, compared with 2,386, 3446, and 3846 at the corresponding period in the preceding
three years. The subjoined table shows the degree of prevalence of the disease in the borough
and in London, as a whole, indicated by the number of notifications, and of deaths, etc., in thirteen
four-weekly periods, as set out in my reports.

Note.—Correction has not been made in the table for errors in diagnosis, either with respect to notifications,
or admissions to hospital. The notifications are collated from the weekly returns of the Asylums Board; the admissions
to, and numbers in, the hospitals, and the deaths in London, from the weekly returns of the Registrar-General.