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28
MEASLES.
The mortality of the disease last year was at the rate of 0.24 per 1,000 persons, as
compared with a mean rate of 0.32 for the five years 1902-0 and one of 0.48 for 1892-96.
The comparison appears to be a satisfactory one, but some reservation must be made for the
fact that the epidemic occurred during the last quarter of the past year and continued into
the first quarter of the current one. Consequently some of the deaths from measles registered
at the beginning of this year ought to be added to the total for last year. Such deaths would
(it is known) be very few in number, quite insufficient to raise the mortality figure to the
mean for 1902-06. Measles is characterised by the peculiar regularity of its outbreaks,
occuring at intervals of eighteen months to two years, and by the varying severity of attack
in different outbreaks. It would be unwise, therefore, to speak in too confident a tone of the
reduction in the mortality which appears to have taken place. The next outbreak may set
the balance on the other side of the account.
The mortality varies greatly in the different Wards and ranged last year from 0.53 in
Church Ward to zero in the Lancaster Gate Wards. In two Wards only, viz., Maida Vale
and Hyde Park, was last year's mortality in excess of the quinquennial mean. (See below.)

* Mean, 1892-90, 0.50.
In the circumjacent districts last year's nett mortality (Table 11) was below the mean
in all districts, but the Willesden rate was higher than that of the Borough. After correction
for sex and age, the Borough rate (Table 21) becomes the highest of the series, and the
Hampstead rate is found to be exceptional in that it is higher than the mean.