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7
There was a most marked drop in the number of deaths from
Pneumonia and Heart Disease.
Ward Distribution.
North East. North West. South East. South West.
144 124 124 331
Based upon the estimated population of each ward, the death-rate
per 1,000 was:—
North East. North West. South East. South West.
10.3 10.3 10.3 18.3
The death-rate in the North-East South-East & South-West
Wards is lower than it was in 1907, but that of the North-West
is higher.
The most marked improvement appears in the South-West
Ward, but a death-rate 80 per cent. above that of the rest of the
district is far from satisfactory. It was pointed out in last year's
report that some of the causes of the enhanced death-rate are not
entirely dependent upon sanitary conditions. The birth rate in the
South-West Ward is much higher than in the rest of the district,
and the Ward therefore contains an abnormal percentage of persons
peculiarly sensitive to adverse influences. The age distrubition of
the population though, is not sufficient to account for the marked
difference in the death-rate of this Ward as compared with the rest
of the district. Diseases of childhood would naturally be more
prevalent in the Ward, but even from such diseases as Measles,
Diarrhoea, &c., the mortality is excessive. Out of 38 deaths from
Measles 25 occurred in the South-West Ward; and some of the
other diseases claimed their victims from the Ward in the following
proportions:—
Scarlet Fever 10 out of 15
Whooping Cough 9 „ ,,15
Diarrhoea 33 „ „ 46
Prematurity 17 ,, „ 25
The same phenomenon is observed in other diseases which are
more or less dependent on social conditions. Out of 56 deaths from
Phthisis, 26 belonged to the South West Ward, from Pneumonia 25
out of 55 deaths and from Bronchitis 28 out of 50. Persons living
under such conditions as overcrowding, badly lit and badly