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14
highest being Preston with 5.16, or exactly 2½ times the
zymotic death-rate of this Parish.
The unusually high number of deaths from zymotic
diseases in this Parish during 1884 was due to the epidemics
of Measles and Whooping Cough; diseases over which the
Sanitary Authority has but little control, although we were
able to put a stop to a wide-spread epidemic of Measles in
Belgravia, by obtaining the closing of certain of the Infants'
Schools for three weeks.
To consider these diseases separately:—
Small Pox caused 2 deaths in the Parish, one of which
was that of a non-parishioner, and there were 4 deaths of
Parishioners from this disease in Public Institutions outside
of the Parish, and also 1 from Pneumonia after Small Pox.
Measles caused no less than 40 deaths during the 53
weeks, a higher number than that recorded in either of the
previous 10 years and nearly double the annual average.
It will be observed that this increase in the number of deaths
from Measles followed a year in which the number of deaths
from this disease was remarkably small.
Scarlet Fever caused only 7 deaths, a smaller number
than that recorded in either of the preceding 10 years, and
less than a third of the annual average. One of these deaths
was that of a non-Parishioner, while, on the other hand, a
death of a Parishioner occurred from this disease in one of
the Public Institutions outside of the Parish. (One of the
deaths from Scarlet Fever was registered as from "Brain
Fever ")
Diphtheria caused 25 deaths, or 2 less tnan in 1883,
but still more than twice the annual average for the preceding
10 years. Of these 25 deaths however, no less than
12 were those of non-Parishioners in St. George's Hospital,
and only one death of a Parishioner occurred in a Public
Institution outside of the Parish. Diphtheria was (as in