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6
are very liable to tubercular disease, induced by
their confinement in close and ill-ventilated sheds,
infection from the mucus discharge being readily
conveyed from one to another.
Phthisis is now recognised as an infectious and
consequently a preventable disease. The infection
is usually spread through either drinking the milk of
tuberculous cows, or by the inhalation of dried expectoration.
Dampness of subsoil, together with illventilated
houses, have a tendency to lower the
vitality, and render the dwellers in them less able
to resist the contagion. All such houses should be
reported to the Sanitary Authority. The rooms used
by phthisical patients should be thoroughly disinfected,
under the supervision of our Sanitary Inspector.
A patient suffering from this disease should sleep
alone, should not expectorate on the floor or about
the room, the sputa should be collected in a small
vessel containing a disinfectant, and afterwards burnt.
The following Table epitomises the ages at which
the deaths occurred:
Deaths under a yearz 132 203 under 5
,, from 1 year and under 5 years 711 years of age.
„ „ 5 years and under 15 ,, 121
„ ,, 15 „ ,, 25 ,, 141 247 over 5
,, ,, 25 ,, ,, 65 ,, 126 years of age.
,, „ 65 and upwards 95
Two non-residents excluded.
Forty-four deaths were registered between the
ages of 70 and 80, 22 between 80 and 90, two at 94,
and one at 97.
Infantile Mortality.
The rate of this mortality, or the proportion of
deaths under one year to every thousand births, was
154, against 133 for the previous year; for London
it was 167, and for England and Wales 161.