View report page

45
ri908

"The foregoing figures indicate that in six of the 38 years under
"review, the meteorological conditions in the third quarter of the year,
"viz., low temperature and high rainfall were conducive to comparatively
"low rates of infantile mortality, while the high temperature and low
"rainfall that prevailed in the third quarter of 12 of the years was the
"main cause of the greatly increased loss of infant life."
The infantile mortality rate in Islington during the last six decennial
periods has varied very little. Thus from 1846 to 1855 it was 147; from 1856
to 1865, 144; from 1866 to 1875, 153; from 1876 to 1885, 144; from
1886 to 1895, 146; and from 1896 to 1905, 140. It is quite true that for the
last three or four years there has been a remarkable decline in that mortality,
but this was equally the case throughout the kingdom, and there is no reason
whatsoever to suppose, as some people who do not approve of health visitors
would fain have us think, that it will be permanent, or has been due to the
good sanitary conditions existing in the Borough. It, therefore, behoves us
not to be lulled into any false security by delusive mortality rates.
A table has been prepared which shows the diseases from which children
under 12 months old have died during the last 11 years, and here we find
that such diseases as diarrhoea, tuberculous peritonitis or tabes mesenterica,
accidents or negligence, measles, whooping cough, rickets, and some minor
ailments caused a very considerable proportion of the mortality, and yet all
of these are preventable deaths. Then there are also deaths due to partly