View report page

8
The third fatal case occurred in December, in South
Park Road; a gentleman 46 years of ago. The defective
drains may have accounted for the illness, though there is
some evidence of oysters having been the cause.
Of the remaining 7 cases, 2 were imported, and in 5 the
causes could not be traced.
Measles. As will be seen by Table B, there were 9 deaths from
measles, while there were only 11 deaths in the year from all
the notifiable diseases. Measles is therefore responsible for
about as many deaths as all the notifiable diseases together.
This is a significant fact, and I strongly advise the
notification of this disease in the district, and call attention
to the following extract from my Annual Report for 1892: —
" As measles is one of the most infectious of diseases
and causes as great a mortality as any of those notifiable, I
think it would be advisable for the Local Board to avail
themselves of the provisions under the Infectious Diseases
Notification Act, and make an order to include measles among
the diseases already notifiable in the district.
"With our present hospital accommodation, isolation
would of course be out of the question; but the masters and
mistresses of schools might be informed of any cases occurring
among their scholars, or among the inmates of houses from
which tbeir scholars attend, with a view to preventing
children attending from such houses until a certificate be
produced from a medical man stating that the premises are
free from infection.
"It would be a good plan to give this a trial for a
specified time, and if it were found to be of no use the order
could be revoked."
Infectious During the year 77 patients were admitted to the
Hospital hospital, 76 of whom were suffering from scarlet fever; and
one from small-pox.