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Infectious Diseases Notification Act was passed. It is now generally held
that Erysipelas can be caused by various organisms, and cannot be regarded
as a specific disease in regard to its etiology. It is true that
a relationship exists between Erysipelas and Puerperal Fever, but so
there does between the latter disease and any ordinary abscess or even
a gum boil. Disinfection is carried out after Erysipelas, only when
some special circumstances demand it.
TUBERCULAR DISEASES.
Forty-eight deaths were registered as due to Phthisis, or Consumption.
which number is equal to a rate of .9 per 1,000 inhabitants.
Twenty-six deaths were caused by other tubercular diseases—Tubercular
Meningitis 14, General Tuberculous 4, Tubercular-Peritonitis 3,
Tubercular Enteritis 2, Tabes Mesenterica 2, and Tubular Kidney 1.
Of the total deaths from Tubercular Diseases, 38 were of males
and 36 of females.
Forty-nine deaths were in persons over 15 years of age, and 25
in children under that age.
In England, Phthisis in adults has diminished since 1850 by 48
pet cent., but Tubercular diseases in children have increased by 27
per cent. It is impossible to give comparative figures for Acton, as
deaths of residents occurring in institutions outside the district were
not obtained prior to 1905, and last year 26 out of the 74 deaths, or
35 per cent., occurred in such institutions. The same phenomenon
has probably occurred in this district. The increase is due to Tuberculosis
of the abdomen, caused possibly by the ingestion of infected
milk.
Thirty per cent. of all the cows giving milk in this country are
tuberculous, but probably such milk is not dangerous until the udder
is affected. About 2 per cent. of the cows have tuberculous udders.
Our inquiries were more particularly directed towards the deaths
occurring from Phthisis, or Tubercle of the Lung.