[Report 1896] / Medical Officer of Health, Bilston U.D.C.

  • Bilston (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1896
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1896] / Medical Officer of Health, Bilston U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    years and 16 cases—of which four were fatal—were notified here. It is a disease that is specially identified with defects in drainage, but it also appears under circumstances that make it difficult to determine its exact causation. Membranous Croup is a similar—and by many believed to be the same—disease and 7 cases were notified all of which ended in death. Whooping Cough.—17 deaths have been due to Whooping Cough, viz., 1 in January ; t in February; 3 in March ; 3 in April; 2 in May; 3 in June; 2 in July; 1 in August; and 1 in December. This is the greatest fatality in any one year of the past decade except 1892 then the number was 23. Diarrhoea.—29 deaths—26 being in children under 5 years of age—were attributed to Diarrhoea, as compared with 42 in the previous year. This disease, though usually, and most correctly, regarded as due largely to atmospheric conditions is—in this district certainly— frequently also the result of improper feeding of infants, want of care and cleanliness, and insanitary and dirty surroundings. 'I he following figures give the number of deaths, above and below five years of age for the past ten years. Deaths from Diarrhoea 1896 1895 1894 ro Os 00 hH 1892 1891 1S90 1889 r888 1887 Infants under 5 years ... 26 i C/3 9 27 13 *5 1 23 W 6 11 Above 5 yeais ... 'J 4 1 8 2 r 1 5 29 42 TO 35 13 J5 25 18 1 7 16 Influenza.—A peculiarly mild form of influenza has appeared from time to time during the year, but only 3 deaths, one in February, one in November, and one in December, were attributed to it. In- directly, however, it probably still contributes even more to our mortality. Zymotic Diseases.—Sr deaths were registered during the year as due to zymotic causes, as compared with 118 in the preceding year, and giving a death-rate of 3-4 per thousand of the whole population. The subjoined table enables a comparison to made of these deaths during the ten years 1SS6 to 1895 with the year 1896. Deaths from Scarlet Fever Smallpox Measles Wlloopinp; Cough Typhoid Fever Diphtheria and 1 Membr'nousCroup) Diarrhoea 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1S93 1894 1895 Aver. No. of deaths in the Ten Years 1886-95. Total deaths in 1896. 9 3 T 6 9 8 1 80 10 1 8 1 1 •G 4 42 5 12 9 13 15 51 15*1 7 G 11 5 14 3 G 23 7 12 3 90 17 4 7 2 4 1 G 4 1 8 37 7 G 8 9 5 5 4 3 8 12 60 11 31 10 7 18 25 15 13 35 10 42 21'2 29 51 85 28 49 41 3G 65 73 40 118 5H-G 81