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73
As regards the causation of diphtheria, Dr. R. Thorne
Thorne, C.B., the Medical Officer of the Local Government
Board, in his lectures delivered before the Royal College of
Physicians of London, regards "broad geological features
as of little moment; but dampness and pollution of soil and
exposure to cold wet winds are conditions frequently met
with in connection with diphtheria outbreaks." In regard
to the important question of school infection, Dr. Thorne
Thorne is in accord with other observers "in regarding the
aggregation of children at school as the most constant
of the conditions under which ordinary diphtheria arises
out of the prevalence of indefinite sore throats which so
generally precede and accompany its outbreaks."
5. —Whooping-cough.
(Decennial average, 24.3.)
The 11 infantile deaths ascribed to this disease were
considerably below the average, and call for no special
comment.
6.—Fever.
(Decennial average, 11.4.)
Fever includes typhus, enteric fever, and simple or illdefined
forms of continued fever. 26 notifications were
received, all of which referred to enteric fever. 6 of the
cases were removed to hospital. The 9 deaths in 1892
again showed a declining fatality.
The total number of fever patients removed from the
various Metropolitan parishes by the ambulances of the
Metropolitan Asylums Board during the year was 16,118.
The removals of small-pox patients numbered 306. Aggregate