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17
MEMBRANOUS CROUP.
There have been only 18 cases notified as compared with 26 last
year, but there has been the same number of deaths, and consequently
the mortality is slightly increased.
TYPHOID FEVER.
There has been an increase of 41 in the number of cases notified
as compared with last year, and the number of deaths is twice as
great.
The largest number of cases notified in any one month was 26 in
September, and in the latter four months of the year over 63% of the
total number were notified.
It will be seen from Table XI. that 40% of the cases notified
occurred in the Leyton Ward, and that in the Cannhall Ward only 13
were notified.
There were 92 houses infected, and sanitary defects were found in
53 of these.
Of the above total 11 cases were imported into the District.
Two cases occurred through nursing Typhoid patients.
I shall refer later in the Report to a series of cases that occurred
in adjacent houses, where the combined system of drainage existed.
PUERPERAL FEVER.
There was only one case notified during the year, and only one
death occurred.
It is worthy of mention that this death was not that of the case
notified, and this points to the fact that the notification of this disease
is likely to give rise to many discrepancies in the yearly statistics.
The reason for this is, in my opinion, due to the fact that in the new
edition of the authorised "Nomenclature of Diseases," issued by the
Royal College of Physicians of London, the common term "Puerperal
Fever" has been expunged, and the affection called by one or more of
three names, none of which is, strictly speaking, mentioned in the
scheduled list of notifiable diseases. Consequently a medical practitioner,
acting strictly upon the letter of the law, may refuse to notify
any puerperal affection on account of the obsolete wording of the
Notification Act.