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8
still know as little of the cause and control of Measles as we did
thirty years ago. Medical research in this disease would well
repay the money spent. The continuous epidemics and deaths
from Measles show how futile general sanitary measures are in
controlling a disease for which we have no specific remedy and no
scientific means of prevention.
The present social conditions are likely to result in an everdecreasing
birth-rate, and it may presently become an acute
problem, in the interests of the State, to conserve every child that
is born.
A satisfactory feature of the infant mortality statistics is that
of the neonatal mortality or death-rate of infants in the first month
of life. The figures given on page 67 show that in 1924 the
neonatal death-rate was lower than for the past 10 years. The
Ante-Natal and Maternity Home facilities appear at last to be
having some effect in saving the youngest infants.
It is also a satisfactory feature of the report that only one
death of a woman in child-birth was notified and no deaths
occurred from puerperal sepsis.
As far as other public health work is concerned, I would point
out that Ilford has thought well to adopt the humane slaughtering
byelaws. To anyone who thinks that these are unnecessary, I
would commend a visit to a slaughterhouse in a rural area where
such byelaws are not in force. It is difficult to understand how
the Christian population in this country has been able to tolerate
for so long such avoidable suffering of dumb creatures. The
Health Committee in this matter has been a Humanity Committee.
Every effort has been made during the past year to promote
the sale of "Grade A" and other designated milks. An enquiry at
the end of the year showed that just over 150 gallons of
"Grade A" milk (or about one-tenth of the total sale of
all milk) was retailed daily in the district. The standard
of "Grade A" milk is not so high that the question may
rightly be asked "Why should not all milk sold be ' Grade
A' milk?" A little more cleanliness on the part of the
farmer and in the transport of milk is all that is required to
attain this object. The various designations of milks' sanctioned
by the Government has been unnecessarily multiplied ; the ordinary
consumer of milk has no inclination to differentiate between them.
There is little demand at present for pasteurised milk sold as such.
Much milk is pasteurised and sometimes re-pasteurised, but is
sold as pure fresh new milk to the consumer. A simpler legislation
would be to enact that any milk sold must be pasteurised,
sold as such, and come up to a given standard, or, if not so