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125
1911
Acute Bronchitis.—157 deaths were ascribed to acute bronchitis, of
which 58 we;e those of males and 99 were of females. The return is 21 above
that of 1910. No less than 51 out of these 157 deaths occurred among children
in their very first year of life, and 18 between 1 and 5 years. Altogether 69
of these children had not reached the end of then fifth year. Nine deaths
occurred in the public institutions of the borough.
Chronic Bronchitis. —247 deaths from this disease were registered, as
compared with 254 in the preceding year. 116 were males and 131 females.
In contrast with the ages at death from acute bronchitis, it is noticeable
that only one occurred among children under ten years old, while 18 were
among pei sons aged from 45 to 55; 43 among persons 55-65; 82 among
persons 65-75, and 71 among old people between 75 and 85, while as many
as 18 occurred among old people who had passed their 85th year. 66
deaths, or over 26 per cent, of the entire number, occurred in public institutions,
chiefly in the Workhouse Infirmaries.
Pneumonia.—To this disease were ascribed 395 deaths, as contrasted
with 429 in the preceding year, of which number 215 were males and 180
females. There weie also 100 deaths among infants under one year old, and
96 among young children between 1 and 5 years of age, 5 among children
between 5 and 10. 69 deaths, as compared with 71 in the preceding year,
occurred in public institutions, generally the Workhouse Infirmaries.
This disease is commonly known as "Inflammation of the lungs," but it
has been rightly called "pneumonic fever."
It has been known from the earliest years of medical history, and, indeed,
Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine," gives an account of it, while
others of the medical fathers, such as Celsus and Galen, speak of it.
It is, moreover, an infectious disease, which fact makes it of interest from
a public health point of view.
This characteristic was recognised so long ago as 1497, when Pavonasola,
writing of it in his book "Practica," alluded to it as contagious. A century
later (1592) Dunns noted this character; while 21 years later still Ravico at
Venice writes of a malignant epidemic. In the eighteenth century, according
to Thirsch, malignant epidemics of the disease prevailed in Spain, England,
Denmark, and North America, while it has also been recorded by other writers