View report page

41
displaces the hot ground air charged with all impurities from defective
drains and polluted earth.
Incidence of diarrhoea and like diseases—enteritis, gastro-enteritis
—is well-known to be particularly heavy among the bottle-fed children,
due either to the foul condition of the bottle, or to the sourness of
the milk, or to both these causes combined. It is obvious that
mother's milk is free from germs.
Milk in hot weather, on account of fermentation, is particularly
liable to upset bottle-fed children.
For the purposes of this report, on the mortality tabular forms
which have been supplied by the Local Government Board, there is
happily a note* defining for the first time the diseases which have
to be classified under the headings of Diarrhoea and Enteritis. By
having such diseases classified uniformly throughout the kingdom, it
is obvious that comparisons of statistics afford a better idea of the
state of districts.
* Under the heading of " Diarrhoea" are to be included deaths certified as from
diarrhoea, alone or in combination with some other cause of ill-defined nature ; and
also deaths certified as from
Epidemic enteritis ;
Zymotic enteritis;
Epidemic diarrhoea. Summer diarrhoea ;
Dysentery and dysenteric diarrhoea ;
Choleraic diarrhoea, cholera, cholera nostras (in the absence of Asiatic
cholera).
Under the heading of ''Enteritis" are to be included those certified as from
Gastro-enteritis, Muco-enteritis and Gastric catarrh, unless from information obtained
by enquiry from the certifying practitioner or otherwise, the Medical Officer
of Health should have reason for including such deaths, especially those of infants,
under the specific term " Diarrhoea."
Deaths from diarrhoea secondary to some other well-defined disease should be
included under the latter.