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113
Parish of Wandsworth.
The number of cases in the various Wards was as
follows:—in No. I. Ward, nine cases; in No. II. Ward,
eight cases; in No. III. Ward, 15 cases; in No. IV.
Ward, eight cases; in No. V. Ward, 15 cases; in No.
VI. Ward, 12 cases. Total 67.
Of the 67 cases, 68 were hand-fed, and only four
were nursed by the mother.
Of the 63 hand-fed cases, 31 were fed on cows milk
alone, 14 on condensed milk alone, and 18 on a mixture
of both.
The sanitary condition of the houses in which these
deaths occurred was noted, and in 25 this was good, in 28
fair, and in 14 some defect was found.
One important fact was observed, and that was that
sufficient care is not taken by the parents as to the storage
of the milk after purchase. In many of the houses, there
is no proper larder, and in these the milk was kept in any
convenient place, such as on a shelf in the kitchen, on the
kitchen table, in the kitchen cupboard, or in the scullery.
In any of these places, the milk was liable to be contaminated,
and if given to an infant would produce severe
Diarrhoea, resulting in many cases in death.
The above facts only strengthen previous statistics on
the subject, and although it is comparatively easy to say
what ought to be done to prevent this excessive mortality
in infants; it would be a difficult matter to carry out any
preventive measures. The one outstanding fact is that
infants nursed by the mother suffer little from summer
Diarrhoea, and that hand-fed children suffer badly.
Influenza.
During the year, 25 deaths were registered
from this cause, two of these occurring in
the Middlesex Lunatic Asylum, and one in St. Peter's
i