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48
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
The Sanitary Authority at the present time holds pretty much the
same position in relation to Infantile Mortality as it did to infectious
disease before the Notification Act came into force.
The supervision of infant life cannot be exercised officially unless
information is given to the Authority of the locality of the births. At
least it cannot be satisfactorily done except by the expenditure of more
force than is likely to be allotted to it. Application has been made to the
Registrar General, and to various other officials to allow the Local
Registrars to furnish to the Medical Officer of Health this information,
but unfortunately without any good result. I believe the answer of the
Registrar General to the request is, that in giving this information he
would find it difficult to obtain the registration of many of the illegitimate
births. This is similar to the stock argument before the notification of
infectious disease was adopted. It has since been abundantly falsified as
no one has ever objected to notification of infectious disease, and I feel
satisfied no objection would be made to the locality of the births being
supplied to the Medical Officer of Health. The Registrar General has
advised the petitioning of the Local Government Board in regard to this
matter.
WHOOPING COUGH.
The deaths from this disease were 68 during the year, as against
114 for the year 1902.
This is an important decrease in the mortality from Whooping
Cough when compared with of the average for the last ten years. The
annual rate per 1,000 living was -33.
The Wards chiefly affected were St. John's, All Saints', and St.
Michael's.
Deaths from Whooping Cough during the last ten years—
1894 111 1899 146
1895 122 1900 120
1896 140 1901 98
1897 126 1902 114
1898 93 1903 68
TYPHUS FEVER.
No death from this disease occurred in the Borough during the year,
and no case was notified.