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41
SECTION IIB.
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES—NON-NOTIFIABLE.
We can paitly judge of the prevalence of these diseases by the death
returns. The deaths from measles have been over double last year, and the
deaths from whooping cough have been 4 less. The deaths from diarrhoea have
been 13 more than last year ; from influenza 3, 1 less than last year.
A prompter and better knowledge of the prevalence of these diseases is
gained from the notifications received from the head teachers, when they are
sent in fully and regularly to the Medical Officer of Health, as they should be,
in accordance with section 7 of "Instructions to Teachers" issued by the
Education Committee.
DIARRHCEA.
45 deaths occurred from diarrhoea and epidemic enteritis, as compared with
58, 54 and 19 for 1914-13-12. The death-rate from the disease is 0.64 per
thousand of the population, as compared with 0.85 last year. Of these deaths,
37 occurred in children under 1 year of age, giving an infantile mortality rate
for the year from this cause of over 22 per thousand nett births; the figures in
1914-13-12 were 44, 22 and 8 per thousand nett births. 40 deaths were in
children under 2 years; these contribute to the zymotic death-rate. There was
also 1 Belgian infant under 1 year.
In May, posters were issued on hoardings warning the public of the dangers
due to the prevalence of flies, especially in hot weather, as productive of fatal
diarrhoea amongst young children. In June, the Education Committee supplied
the 34 departments of the public elementary schools with a map for the teaching
of the life history of the fly.
The Local Weather. The year was a fairly normal one, excepting
with regard to rainfall, which was excessive. In July and December it exceeded
5 inches, whilst 4 days (1 each in May, June, July and September) were
responsible between them for 5.43 inches of rain. The remarkable fact about
the rainfall is that very little of it came down during thunderstorms, certain
periods being persistently wet, hour after hour; but fortunately much of it fell
during the nights.
The sunshine was good and well distributed; the temperatures were far
from extreme, as frost was only registered on 58 nights: of which 36 were in the
early part of the year, and 22 in the closing months, but there was no day
throughout the year when the frost held for 24 hours. [Abstracted from report
of Mr. J. McEwan.]