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45
west battersea.
The year under report has been charaeterised by
an unusual prevalence of certain diseases, viz:—Scarlet
Fever, Diphtheria, and Throat Affections, the like
severity of which has not existed for some years past,
these being of the epidemic class, the death-rate from this
class of ailment has considerably increased as compared
with 1886. The total number of deaths was 256, being 90
more than those of the previous year. It was evident
in the first quarter of the year that we were about to be
visited by one of those periodical epidemics of Scarlet
Fever, which no method of precaution has been able
to prevent, these suspicions were unhappily verified by
the laige number of cases which subsequently appeared,
yet, although, the known numbers were large, there is
no doubt the actual cases were far in excess of those
which came under notice. In the absence of compulsory
notification of the occurrence of infectious disease, the
returns relied on are principally those of the Asylum Board,
which refer to admissions only, there is therefore no safe
basis on which to estimate the actual extent of the
disease, though from one's actual knowledge there is no
reason to doubt that it was pretty generally and plentifully
spread over the whole of the district.
What the cause of this disease may be one cannot
say. There can be no question but that it is always more
or less amongst us, but what the conditions may be which
should cause it to suddenly become epidemic, as during
the past year, it is impossible to tell. All we can do is
to try and discover the circumstances which are favourable
to its spread, and by removing them, to stamp
out the epidemic before it gets much sway ; to do this,
it is absolutely necessary to know where the cases occur