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101
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Of the 256 cases inquired into, 31 were prematurely bom,
and 17 were twin children, 13 had intestinal trouble from birth,
nine were suffering from Rickets and Wasting, seven had Bronchitis
and Pneumonia, four had Whooping Cough, seven had Congenital
Defects, and seven had other diseases previous to the onset of the
Diarrhcea.
Two of the cases who were entirely breast fed probably
contracted the disease from the mother while in another case a
member of the family had been removed to hospital suffering from
Enteric Fever when the infant was four days old.
An inquest was necessary in one case and the father was
committed to prison for six weeks for neglect.
Of the 256 deaths, 54 occurred in Institutions outside the
Borough.
The next Table shows the result of the inquiries made after
these deaths, arranged in Wards, and there is also shown the
number of infants who had been previously visited, the number of
illegitimate infants, and the social status of the parents.
It may also be seen in the Table that 46 of the infants who
died from Diarrhoea had been fed in accordance with the pamphlet
left by the Inspectors, and also that of the total number of deaths
in which information was obtained, viz. 242, 31 were prematurely
born, 69 were delicate from birth, and 17 were twin children
Of the 46 stated to have been fed in accordance with the
instructions on the pamphlet, two were prematurely born, nine
were delicate from birth, four suffered from Conger ital Defects,
four from Marasmus, two from Whooping Cough, one from
Bronchitis, and two from other diseases.
Infant Visiting.
During the year the female Sanitary Inspectors have continued
the work begun in 1905. in visiting the homes where births had
occurred, and they have also had during the year, as is stated in
their report, valuable assistance from several voluntary health
visitors.