View report page

measles 174, premature births 143, whooping cough 71, diphtheria 71,
scarlet fever 25, alcoholism 36 and appendicitis 19.
Deaths included that of the spy Lody, who was shot in the Tower
of London, and seven Belgian soldiers who died in the London Hospital.
The son of a shopkeeper was sentenced to two months imprisonment
for aiding and abetting his father in having deposited on the premises
a quantity of diseased meat weighing 55-stone.
Twelve summonses were issued in respect of the conveyance of
offensive matter through the streets during prohibited hours or in
improper receptacles.
Writing of the outbreak of the war, the Medical Officer of Health
reported that there had been a great demand for workshops for the manufacture
of military equipment of all kinds including "brushes for
sweeping the trenches."
On infant welfare the Medical Officer of Health stated that, "The
use of dried milk is growing more widespread, and results from it seem
quite satisfactory, if it be not continuously used for too long a period.
Its use during the summer months is advantageous. It can be kept free
from dust and flies, in a closed tin, and the risk of contamination is
reduced. The difficulty of keeping cow's milk fresh and pure, during
the hot season, in homes where there is no provision for suitable storage,
is so great as to make its use for babies very unsafe, unless the mother
is an intelligent careful woman.
"The greatest evils as regards feeding, that the Health Visitor has
to contend with are, firstly, irregularity of feeding, and secondly, the
giving of additional feeds of sop made with bread or biscuit, oatmeal or
cornflour, usually on the recommendation of the grandmother. Both of
these evils result in digestive disturbance, and often end with causing
wasting disease.
"However, quite recently when one of the Health Visitors called at
a certain house, she found the mother and her first baby, aged 3 weeks,
at breakfast. The mother was having bacon and eggs, and the baby, bacon
fat, and the yolk of egg." — (? A forerunner of 'modern' ideas on infant
feeding which allow minced meat, etc. after a few weeks.)
Deaths of children under one year included 204, from diarrhoea and
enteritis, 45 from measles and 92 from pneumonia. There were 199
inquests on children under five years, 35 deaths being attributed to
convulsions, 40 to overlying by parents in bed, and 12 to burns and
scalds.
Notifications of infectious disease included 848 diphtheria; 2,009
scarlet fever; 44 enteric fever, and 1,230 new cases of tuberculosis.
Almost ten per cent of the cases of tuberculosis notified during the
year died before the end of the year.
7