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30
For the first time, owing to the Infectious Diseases
Notification Act, it is possible to give a complete account
of the amount of preventable disease that has occurred.
Notification of 188 cases of the different diseases included
in the Act have been received, and the early information
obtained has undoubtedly been the means of checking
the spread of illness in many cases. In many instances
we have been successful by persuasion in getting patients
removed to hospital promptly, and in others we have
been enabled to insist on efficient isolation at home.
The working of the Act has been without friction and
as a rule medical men have been prompt in discharging
their statutory duties.
Small Pox.—It is again with great satisfaction that I
can report that not a single case of this disease has been
notified. It may be mentioned that there has been no
death from small pox since 1884.
Influenza.—London, like most other towns, was
visited in the early part of the year by an epidemic
of this disease. It is in this report classified among the
Zymotic diseases and there seems no reason to doubt
that it is infectious. The methods that have been found
effectual in dealing with other diseases of this class are
not likely to prove of equal benefit in checking the
spread of Influenza, because of the indefiniteness of the
symptoms in slight cases causing them to be overlooked,
and allowing them to spread infection broad-cast. The
number of deaths, 4, attributed to Influenza does not give
any idea of the extent to which it spread in January,
February and March, and knowing how very numerous
the cases were, it is gratifying that the deaths were so
few. It will be noticed, however, that the deaths from
diseases of the Respiratory Organs have reached the
high figure of 139 which is considerably above the
average, and it is most probably the case that a certain
proportion of these commenced as Influenza resulting,
as so frequently happens, in pneumonia,