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REPORT
on the
SANITARY CONDITION OF ST. MARY, ISLINGTON
FOR APRIL, 1871.
No. CLXXXVIII.
Were it not for the continued prevalence of Small Pox—a shame and
a disgrace to any British population—the month of April just elapsed
must have been designated as fairly healthy. As it is, the mortality
registered was not in excess of that registered last year, and the total
amount of general public sickness was less than in any April during the
previous three years. The deaths were 342, and the new cases of
sickness recorded were 2,730. No specific form of disease has increased
among us except Small Pox, and some forms have considerably lessened.
With respect to the epidemic of Small Pox, I am sorry to have to say
that up to the end of April it has continued to extend among our
population. In the five weeks of December I recorded 104 public cases
of this disease, in the four weeks of January 121 cases, in the four
weeks of February 123 cases, in the five weeks of March 198 cases, and
now in the four weeks ending April 29th, I have to record 249 fresh
cases. It amounts to a veritable plague. In no April in any year have I
recorded anything like so large a number of fresh cases of any epidemic
disease whatever, the largest number of cases of Small Pox recorded in
April being 60 in 1863, the largest number of cases of Measles in April
being 104 last year, the largest number of cases of Scarlet fever in April
being 44 in 1863, and the largest number of cases of Whooping Cough
in April being 90 in 1869. And a similar observation may be made about
the deaths from Small Pox. Including those persons from Islington who
died at the Hampstead Hospital, the deaths from Small Pox registered
in the four weeks of April were 55. In the five weeks of December
they were 17, in the four weeks of January they were 28, in the four
weeks of February they were 42, and in the five weeks of March they