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20
ZYMOTIC DISEASES—THEIR PREVALENCE AND INTENSITY.
By a reference to the above Table it will be seen that
fever of a low type proved fatal in 8 cases, shewing that
it must have prevailed extensively during the year; but
happily the mortality—as was the case likewise with
measles, scarlatina, diphtheria, whooping-cough, and
diarrhoea—was comparatively light, taking into consideration
the number of cases treated.
From each of the above-named diseases, constituting
the Registrar General's seven principal zymotic maladies,
the resulting mortality was much less in the past than in
any of the four preceding years; and this I consider a
very encouraging circumstance, seeing how large has
been the amount of epidemic disease noted during the
year throughout the kingdom.
SMALL POX AND VACCINATION.
During the year 1862 I successfully vaccinated 206
individuals. The total number of births registered was
622; but I have good grounds for believing that scarcely
the same number vaccinated by myself as the public
vaccinator of the sub-district, could have been protected
by the other medical practitioners in the neighbourhood.
If, therefore, I am correct in my estimate, about a
third of the children born during the year must have
remained, at the termination of it, unprotected. Of
course, some allowance is to be made for those infants
who died within the three months, at or before the expiration
of which the law enjoins the performance of the
operation; but as these amounted to 37 only in the
entire year, it will not very greatly affect the calculation.