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21
From the figures given on page 46 of this report, it will be
seen that more deaths occurred from Measles and Whooping
Cough than from all the other fevers and infectious diseases
combined.
The remedy is obviously in the hands of parents and those
having charge of children. If the erroneous impression that these
ailments are trifling and may be neglected can only be dispelled,
and if each case is carefully nursed and as far as possible isolated,
there will soon be a considerable decrease in the mortality arising
from these diseases.
Printed instructions giving the necessary particulars relating
to the disease and the precautions that should be taken, are sent
to all cases that are reported.
DIARRHCEA.
46 deaths were registered as being due to Diarrhoea and
Epidemic Enteritis, and of these 35 were of children under one
year of age. There were also 23 deaths attributed to Enteritis,
and of these 14 were under one year of age. This gives a total of
69 deaths due to diarrhceal diseases, of which 49 occurred in
children under one year of age.
This is a considerable decrease compared with the. previous
year, when the total deaths from diarrhceal diseases numbered 179,
of which 155 were of children under one year of age. The
number of deaths, therefore, from this cause in 1907 was
considerably less than half those in the previous year.
The decrease is almost entirely due to the cool and wet
weather experienced during the third quarter of the year. At this
time (July to September) there is usually a sudden and very
considerable increase in Infant Mortality due to Summer Diarrhoea,
and the hotter and drier the weather, the greater is this increase.
The following table gives the number of Births and the Rate
of Infantile mortality for each quarter of the year for the past
five years:—