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79
year were all certified as smallpox, and were removed, 2 to the Deptford
Smallpox Hospital, and 2 to the Stockwell Smallpox Hospital. It
is very common for medical practitioners to-mistake chicken pox for
smallpox, and smallpox for chicken pox. The latter mistake is often
the cause of serious outbreak of smallpox.
Scarlet Fever.
During last year there were 172 cases of scarlet fever; males 71;
females 101 reported in this district, against 248, 180, 152, 228, 281
cases reported in the five previous years, from 1878 to 1882. These
numbers do not at all represent the actual number of cases which
occurred in the district, as a very large number of cases of scarlet
fever are alwavs treated at home, and never reported at all. The above
figures represent, however, about the relative proportion of cases
occurring in the last six years. Of the 172 cases reported last year
there were 92 in the parish of Hammersmith, and 80 in the parish of
Fulham, against 106 in the parish of Hammersmith, and 175 in the
parish of Fulham, reported in the previous year. There was, therefore,
last year, as compared with the previous year, a decrease of 14
cases in the parish of Hammersmith, and a decrease of 95 in the parish
of Fulham. The number of deaths of parishioners from scarlet fever,
registered in the whole district last vear, was 43 against 85 in the previous
year. In all London there were 1989 deaths registered last year,
against 2108 on the year previous. The 43 deaths of parishioners
last year were equal to 1'7 per cent, of the total deaths of parishioners
registered in the district, and were equivalent to an annual rate of .3
per 1000 persons living. The death rate from scarlet fever in all
London was 2.5 per cent, of the total deaths registered, and was
equivalent to an annual rate of .5 per 1000 persons living. In 36 out of
the 43 deaths which occurred last year no information was obtained of the
cases until after the death wasregistered,and then only through the death
returns. 35 cases were not reported till after the recovery of the patients.
In 43 cases an offer to remove the patients to an hospital was
rejected, although in many of them the accommodation for the effectual
isolation of the patients was not satisfactory, The accommodation for
the treatment of the patients was not so bad that a Magistrate's
order could have been obtained to enforce removal. In two cases the
patients were in too bad a condition for it to be safe to remove them.
55 cases were removed to the Western-District Hospital at Fulham by
your Board. No case was removed by the Fulham Board of Guardians.
In all of the cases reported, a most careful system of disinfection was
carried out by and at the expense of your Board. From the number
of deaths, 43, we may estimate that there were about 860 persons attacked
by the disease in this district last year. When we take into
consideration the fact that there were only 172 cases reported, it is
not all surprising that the course which was adopted by your Board