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27
1927
Pleurisy.—There were 19 deaths registered from this disease, 3 deaths
occurred in Public Institutions.
Asthma and Emphysema.—Twenty-three deaths were recorded from
these diseases, all of which were adults.
Other Diseases of the Respiratory System— Eighty deaths were
registered, as contrasted with 25 in 1926.
VENEREAL DISEASES.
Twelve deaths were ascribed to these diseases, as compared with 5 in 1926.
Of these 11 were males and 1 female. The mean deaths of the preceding ten
years, 1917-26, were 13.
The annual average number of deaths recorded during ten years from them
at three groups of ages has been as follows : Under 1 year, 6 deaths; 1-5 years,
0 deaths ; and over 5 years, 7 deaths, making an average total of 13 per annum.
The nearest treatment centres of these diseases are the Royal Northern
Hospital, Holloway Road, N., and the Royal Free Hospital, Gray's Inn Road,
W.C.
DEATHS FROM COAL-GAS POISONING.
During the year 18 deaths were registered from asphyxia caused by the
inhalation of carbon-monoxide gas. Twenty-three deaths from the same cause
occurred in 1926.
Eleven of these deaths were attributable to suicide, while the cause of the
remaining 7 deaths was accidental.
Of the 18 deaths, 9 were males and 9 females, the ages ranging from 20 to
82 years.
The Medical Officer of Health has on several occasions emphasized the
dangers arising from the careless use of gas. A common source of trouble at
the present time is the custom of fixing gas cookers in unsuitable positions. Cases
are known where these have been fixed on landings. These cookers, although
provided at the back or side with an opening for the purpose, are seldom ventilated
to the outside air. Very frequently indeed the cleanliness of the gas cookers
is not considered by the householder. At one time—in pre-war days—the Gas
Company would change a hired gas cooker, and there was a means of getting
a clean one for a dirty one, but this opportunity has now ceased. Apart from
the danger of a tap being left slightly on, the want of Ventilation of even a
gas cooker makes an appreciable difference in the purity of the air in an
apartment.
An even greater danger, which needs all the emphasis it is possible to give,
is the lack of knowledge of the precautions necessary in using a geyser or
water heater. In these appliances, in which the burning, or rather the attempted
burning, of any gaseous mixture containing carbon takes place, there may be
an imperfect oxidisation and formation of carbon monoxide. The danger ever
present in such highly efficient water apparatus as geysers can apparently never
be overc&me with certainty, even by arrangements intended to lead the products
of combustion outside the building, an absolutely necessary precaution. The
very small bathrooms now provided in flats certainly add to the danger of