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15
DIPHTHERIA.
Forty-five cases of Diphtheria were notified, and 2 deaths resulted
from the disease. In each instance death had resulted before the
notification was received. With a case-fatality of less than 5 per
cent. it is unnecessary to state that the disease was of a very mild
character.
To what extent the introduction of Antitoxin into general use has
modified the type of disease it is difficult to venture an opinion, but as
far as Acton is concerned, nothing has been more significant than the
diminished mortality witnessed within the last 10 years. Since 1897,
the decline has been almost continuous, as the following figures show:
1897 28 deaths.
1898 8 „
1899 7 »
1900 4 ,,
1901 4 „
1902 6 „
1903 4 ”
1904 2 ,,
1905 4 ”
1906 2 „
Last year, only three towns in England and Wales showed a lower
mortality incidence. Diphtheria is essentially a disease of childhood,
and as the birth-rate in each of these three towns was under 20 per
1,000, the comparative freedom of Acton from Diphtheria is eminently
satisfactory.
ERYSIPELAS.
Thirty-five cases of Erysipelas were notified, and 1 death resulted
from the disease.
The retention of Erysipelas amongst the notifiable diseases is a
demonstration of the necessity of fresh public health legislation. The
views held as to its causation have undergone a vast change since the