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The following is my report to the Sanitary Committee on two of
the cases :—
" Two fatal cases of puerperal fever have occurred in the practice
of one of the midwives to the Royal Maternity Society residing in
Old Ford. As soon as he received the notification of the first case
he wrote both the midwife and the nurse, requesting them to retire
for a time. The midwife had already given notice to her society, and
was suspended; but before she became aware of the nature of the
case she had attended another patient, and infected her. Both women
died. Through disobedience to the Secretary's order to permit the
Boards officials to disinfect her working clothes, the midwife was dismissed
from the Society's service. Then, and then only, she gave up
her clothes for disinfection."
In 1895 the figures relating to diphtheria showed that there had
been the least number of deaths during that period than any since
1891. I am glad to say that in this respect Bow's record
DIPHTHERIA.
for 1896 shows still better, for the number of deaths was
less than in any year since 1889, the figures being 23, as against
29 in 1895 and 42 in 1894. Further there were fewer notifications—
viz., 155,as against 200 in 1895. The death rate was 0.5 as against 0.71.
The satisfactory diminution noted last year continued, although, as
remarked in my last annual report, nothing can be regarded as absolutely
satisfactory of a disease which still continues to kill the largest
number of persons of any notifiable zymotic disease.
In speaking of diphtheria the word is understood to include membranous
croup. The facts connected with this disease prove conclusively
how unsafe it would be to do anything to prevent suspicious
cases of sore throat coming to the knowledge of a sanitary authority.
In 1895 I reported—" In London generally diphtheria ranks third
on the fatal list, diarrhoea and measles taking the first and second
places. There were in the Metropolis 11,223 notifications and 2289
deaths. In the Eastern sanitary districts the incidence of notification