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20
Medical Officers of Health Annual Report.
with the break up of the frost, which characterised the
winter of 1894-95, early in March. At the same time
there was excessive mortality from respiratory diseases and
to a less extent from circulatory and nervous diseases.
The occurrence of thaw after a long frost is always quickly
followed by an excess of disease of these classes apart
from influenza, and undoubtedly such climatic conditions
must be favourable to the development and spread of
influenza. The mortality principally affected persons past
the prime of life, no less than 67.6 per cent. of the deaths
being of persons above 45 years of age.
Diarrhœa, &c., caused 110 deaths. This is a larger
number than in any of the past ten years, The exceptional
heat of the summer of 1895 naturally caused an
excessive mortality from this disease. 91.5 of the deaths
from diarrhoea were of infants under five years of age.
The probable cause is the starting of fermentative
changes favoured by the heat in the children's food,
especially in milk.
Deaths from NonZymotic
Diseases.
The deaths from gout and rheumatism show a
falling off on previous years.
Those from cancer and other tumours number only
three more than in 1894, but are more numerous than in
any year of the decade.
The deaths referred to tubercular diseases, 256 in
number, are slightly more than in the two preceding years,
but are less than the decennial average.
An increase is also found under the head of diseases
of the nervous system. The figure, 308, is larger than in
any year of the decade, but barely exceeds the average,
corrected for increase of population.