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86
Measles to wit caused eleven deaths, and was prevalent
throughout the year. This disease is regarded very lightly
amongst the industrial classes, it is treated at home
without medical aid and without any effort at isolation,
the children on recovery at once mix with others, and
so the disease spreads indefinitely. The only check to
its dissemination is in the case of children attending
school; such children absent from school through illness,
are not permitted to return unless they bring with them
a medical certificate of their freedom from infection;
but unfortunately this rule is, I believe, too often evaded.
Whooping Cough again was very prevalent if we take
the 26 deaths as the measure of its extent. The mortality
from this disease exceeded that of any year of
the decennium.
Diarrhoea was prevalent during the hot weather, it
caused 20 deaths chiefly of sickly and hand.fed children.
other Diseases. These are grouped under five heads in
the Mortality Table, viz :—Constitutional,
Local, Developmental, Violence and Ill.defined.
All the deaths from the diseases included under these
various headings slightly exceeded the number recorded
in 1885, without "correction for increase of population.
Separately considered, the number of deaths from some
of the diseases differ considerably from that of the
previous year.
The deaths from consumption were only 26 as against
43 in 1885, forming only 5.4 per cent of all deaths.