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Table 6 shews the number of deaths from what are
commonly known as the seven chief zymotic diseases, viz.—
small pox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough,
fever and diarrhoea. Under the word fever is included several
different diseases, viz., typhus, typhoid or enteric fever, and
simple continued or ill-defined fever. As regards typhus it is
a very rare disease in Hackney, as only one death occurred in
the district, but how it was caused I could not ascertain, as I
knew nothing of the case until after the patient's death. The
deaths from small pox were very few, viz., 13 against 225 in
1881; but although they exceeded the number registered
in 1873, 74, 75 and 79, they were much below the average
for the 10 years which was as high as 79, chiefly owing to the
two epidemics of 1877 and 1881. Measles also was less fatal
than usual, as 43 deaths were registered against 149 in 1881,
and an average of 60 for the last 10 years. Scarlet fever on
the contrary was very prevalent, as 144 deaths were registered
against the annual number of 76 for the 10 years, and of 118
in 1881. Diphtheria was also very fatal, as 51 deaths were
recorded against a mean of 22 for the 10 years, and of 61 in
1881. Whooping cough caused by far the largest number of
deaths amongst this group of diseases, viz., 182 against 70 in
1881, and a mean for the 10 years of 97. The mortality from
fever was nearly the same as in 1881, having been 63 against
64, whilst that from diarrhoea was unusually small, having
been only 99 against 135 in 1881, and 170 in 1880. The
mean number of deaths per 10,000 population in 1882, from
these diseases, was 31.02 against 32.7 in 1872-81. The death
rate from small pox was only 0.66 per 10,000 in 1882, against
2.20 from measles, 7.88 from scarlet fever, 2.61 from diphtheria,
9.32 from whooping cough, 323 from fever, and 5.12 from
diarrhœa. These figures are very satisfactory, as if whooping
cough were subtracted, the deaths from the other six diseases
were less than 2.2 per 1000 population. The death rate from
these diseases was much lower than that for all London.