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Digestive Disorders; 33 from Diseases of the Urinary System ; 6
from affections connected with Child Birth, and 11 from Diseases of
Bones, Joints and Integuments. Affections of the Circulatory
System would appear to be much on the increase. I find that the
average mortality from this class of disease for the last ten years is
58, while in the year under consideration it is as stated before, 93.
In 1886 it was 84, and in 1885, 96.
The Deaths from Violence numbered 65, of these 20 were due
to Fractures and Contusions, 7 to Burns and Scalds, 33 to Drowning,
and 4 to Suffocation.
The Deaths from Debility numbered 43.
Infectious Sickness.
One case of Smallpox came under my observation; the patient
was an Asiatic staying at the Strangers' Home in the West India
I Dock Road. The disease declared itself on 25th October. He had
been an inmate of the home since 23rd August, and stated that
he had been vaccinated three years previously. He was removed to
Hospital, and the usual steps taken against a spread of the disease.
No other case occurred.
Measles prevailed for the first six months of the year. Seventyone
case came to my knowledge during the year, and of these 58
were reported as deaths; of course these 71 cases do not represent
more than a very small proportion of the number that actually
occurred. The disease is however, sufficiently fatal to merit more
attention than it receives, and to cause greater fear of its infection.
Too frequently the practice is followed of purposely spreading the
disease to all the younger members of a family, with the object of
getting over what is thought to be an inevitable and simple ailment;
the result is frequently disastrous and leads me to view this
complaint on sanitary grounds, as worthy to be classed among
dangerous infectious disorders. As it is, in the year under
consideration its mortality was more than twice that of Scarlatina.
One bundled and nineteen cases of Scarlatina came to my
knowledge, of which number 72 were treated in Hospital; of these
11 patients non-resident in the District were sent by the authorities
of the East London Children's Hospital; of the 27 deaths from this
disease 11 occurred in the Fever Hospital, and the remainder in the
District.
Thirty-nine cases of Enteric Fever came under my notice, of
these 23 were removed to Hospital, where two died; of the remainder
treated at home, four died. In other words, of those treated in
Hospital, 9 per cent died, while of those treated at home 25 per
cent. died. With regard to Scarlatina the death rate of those treated
in the Hospital was 15 per cent, while of those treated in their own
homes the rate was 34 per cent. Surely these facts point to the