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HEALTH OF THE TOWN DURING 1901.
March 4th, 1902.
To the Chairman and Members of the Sanitary Committee.
Gentlemen,
The principal feature from a health point of view, of the year
that has lately come to a close, was, that while the figures of
sickness shewed a decided increase, the mortality returns are the
lowest since 1896. The number of cases of Notifiable Infectious
Diseases being 303, against 210 the year before. The total number
of Deaths from all causes during the same period, being 347,
against 384 the year before, or with the necessary additions of
persons belonging to the District dying in Institutions outside, 383,
against 399 ; the rate per 1,000 of the former being 15 9 and 17.6,
and of the latter 17 8 and 18.5.
The different age periods give results as follows:—
Under 1 year 159
1 year and under 5 62
or 221 under 5 years
The remaining 162 occurring in the remaining age periods : 36
only living over 65. Thus it is very clear that the height of our
death rate is largely due to the infant mortality, the death rate of
persons over 5 years of age only working out at 7.4 of the estimated
population.
There is, however, some improvement this year on this head
also. The infantile mortality rate which in 1900 was 203 per
1,000 births registered, has dropped in 1901 to 161.
With regard to causation, Diarrhoea again heads the list with
58 deaths, against 75 last year. Bronchitis 29, against 44;
Phthisis 27 ; other Tubercular Diseases 24; making a total
ascribed to Tubercular Diseases of 51, against 33. Pneumonia 25,
against 37; Meales 16, against 3.