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30
541 deaths were caused by zymotic diseases; this includes
135 by measles, which disease is, even now, thought by many to be
an affection, needing little medical supervision ; 75 by scarlet fever;
52 by typhoid, typhus, and continued fever, and 20 by small pox.
Referring to the organic morbid conditions which caused death,
the largest number is registered under the head of bronchitis, 408;
of these 74 deaths occurred under 1 year of age; 92 from 55 to 65
years of age, and 66 from 65 to 75; 262 persons died from phthisis;
altogether 430 died of tubercular affections so called. Lung disease
was most fatal, it destroyed 697 persons; disease of nervous system,
222 persons; heart disease, 106; disease of digestive organs, 110.
Very few deaths (only 14) were registered as due to disease of
kidneys and other urinary organs; 201 deaths were registered as
due to old age; 5 of these persons were 95 years of age and upwards;
33 from 85 to 95, and 63 from 75 to 85. Turning to the ages at
death from all causes—7 08, that is 26.4 per cent., died in the first year
of life, a seventh of the infants born died in their first year; 1240
deaths occurred under five years of age, that is 42-5 per cent., which
conclusively shews that the conditions of the parish are little adapted
for the maintenance of feeble life, even when aided by youth.
SMALL POX EPIDEMIC (its third year of continuance).—This
disease has visited Shoreditch, in the epidemic now almost
subsided, much less severely than in 1870-71. During the
year 135 cases were reported to the Sanitary Department,
and 114 of these were removed to the small pox hospital.
During the three years of this epidemic, 243 cases were
reported, and 69 deaths from small pox occurred in the
parish, whereas in the epidemic of 1870-71 which lasted
two years, 1260 cases were reported, and 480 deaths
occurred in the parish. It may reasonably be inferred that
more efficient isolation and disinfection has done much to
prevent the disease spreading during the last epidemic.
In the former epidemic of 1870-71, at the outset especially,
there was little available means for isolating the infected.
The Poor Law Asylums were then not sufficiently