[Report 1914] / Medical Officer of Health, Leicestershire / County of Leicester County Council.

  • Leicestershire (England). County Council.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1914] / Medical Officer of Health, Leicestershire / County of Leicester County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    43/178 (page 33)
    Diseases of the Respiratory Organs.—The Deaths from Bronchitis, Pneumonia, and other diseases of the respiratory track, totalled 448. Bronchitis claimed 237, Pneumonia 182, and other diseases 29. Last year the total number was 430, and in the year before it was 443. The larger number of deaths from Bronchitis has caused the increase. Although the number is greater this year, the ‘‘infant record” is better than it has been for two years. In infants under one year old there were 75 deaths (Bronchitis 38, Pneumonia 37). Last year the total was 85, and it was 94 in 1912. I have pleasure in recording any marked decrease, because the object of the visitations by the Health Visitors under the Notification of Births Act is to advise mothers as to the way of taking proper care of the infants. Respiratory diseases are, to a great extent, preventable, and I hope it can be said that the lessened number of deaths for two years is at any rate some fruit of the Health Visiting work. Before the war it was a routine practice for the Health Visitors, not only to visit the homes where there were newlv-born babies, but also attend at specially-arranged centres for the purpose of giving health talks to mothers on the feeding, clothing, and rearing of infants® This work, however, had to be suspended on account of the depleted Health Visiting staff. School Closures.—One hundred and seventy School Depart¬ ments were closed, on account of the prevalence of infectious diseases amongst the children, during the year. The average period of closure was 5^ weeks, and a total number of 13,132 children were affected. Last year the number of Schools closed was much less, and so was the period of closure, but the number of children affected was more. It will be noted that Measles once again is responsible for the largest number of closures.