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23
The distribution according to age is peculiar. The Increase
in Tubercular Meningitis is confined to five years and under, and
is probably dependent on the epidemic of Measles. The increase
with respect to Phthisis is confined to those dying after the 25th
year. That Phthisis has suddenly become rampant in our town
can be dismissed, but there can be no doubt that the attitude of
the profession has completely changed towards this disease.
Previous to 1912, as far as possible the certification of Phthisis
was avoided on account of family prejudice and certain financial
disabilities that might follow. Now, however, if a person is
attacked by this disease he has everything to gain by its disclosure,
and hence should death follow, the cause can hardly be concealed.
This fact is somewhat disquieting, as it tends to cause some
doubt as to the reliability of deductions based on facts collected
from the certificates furnished by the General Practitioner, and
lends a powerful argument to those who advocate that these forms
should be confidential between the Doctor and the Authorities,
a change which I must hold to be wrong in principle, though useful
in practice.
The distribution of the deaths per 1,000 population is as
follows :—
North, 2.37. South, 1.22. East, 1.62. West, 2.87.
Adding these deaths to those that occurred in the previous
five years, and taking the distribution of the population to be the
same as for the year 1911 (middle vear), we get the following
rates :—1.24, 0.88, 1.13 and West 1.4 respectively.
(c) Pneumonia and Bronchitis.—There were 77 deaths from
these causes, as against 62 for the previous year. In so far as
this increase affected mainly those between 1 and 5 years, they
can be looked upon as being associated with the epidemic of
Measles and Whooping Cough, in such cases where the primary
cause escaped recognition.