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REPORT
on the
SANITAHY CONDITION OF ST. MARY, ISLINGTON,
FOE, DECEMBER, 1867.
No. CXXVIII.
We have this year passed through a very cold and inclement
December. The five weeks to which this report relates include the
week ending Nov. 30th. In that week the frosts commenced which,
with little variation, have lasted ever since. Compared with previous
years, the cold has been extreme: in the first week it was 3.5°, in the
second 6.4°, in the third 2.5°, and in the fifth 0.5° below the average
of the corresponding weeks for 50 years past. (Glaisher.)
The effect of such weather upon the mortality has been, while
keeping down the deaths from the zymotic class of maladies, to
augment very largely those from diseases of the chest, which indeed
exhibit twice the number of those registered in November. One
hundred and sixty-five deaths from respiratory disease appear upon
this month's table; whereas, the numbers registered in the previous ten
years were 55, 104, 70, 8.3, 63, 70, 81 (corrected), 94, 78, 75. The
average of these corrected for increase of population would be 101
deaths. The only zymotic disease which the coldness of the weather
has appeared to have rendered more fatal to our population is small
pox, the deaths from which have risen from 4 in November to 10.
Still, after all, the balance of results was not very unfavourable, for
the total of deaths that were registered, 460, is nearly the mean
corrected number of deaths taking place during ten previous years.
EDWARD BALLARD, M.D.,
Medical Officer of Health..
Vestry Offices,
January 6th, 1S68.