[Report 1911] / Medical Officer of Health, Bilston U.D.C.

  • Bilston (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1911] / Medical Officer of Health, Bilston U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    8/46 (page 6)
    1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. c/3 'O CO CO V cc! CO \4 Cj 5 0 0 15 £ s 0 0 a 're 0 0 ! re S ci 'V- 5 rH 0 ct5 0 Under 1 rt ci c Under 1 c: re c Under 1 w • re re ^0 r—i l-H r-H rH 10 January ... 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 \ 1! February ... 2 2 1 1 March April 1 1 2 1 May June 1 1 2 2 1 1 4 4 2 1 1 4 July 1 1 2 2 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 Ausrust 4 4 5 5 2 4 6 2 2 1 6 16 9,3 27 Se])teinber 4 1 5 1 4 5 2 2 4 0 «.» 1 4 12 7 1 20 October ... 9 9 4 1 0 2 2 4 2 5 7 2 1 3 November 1 1 4 1 5 4 1 5 2 2 December... 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 22 4 2 28 21 8 29 16 9 24 14 10 1 26 33 to 1 0 1 1 00 1 61 Rate iirlOOO I'l 1-1 '96 9-9 ^2-4 The prolonjjed and extraordinary heat of last summer is responsible for this exceptional mortality from Diarrhoea in young' children. It will be noted that three-fourths of the deaths in the whole year from this cause occurred in the months of August and September, and that four-fifths occurred in young' children under 5 years of ag^e, and the majority of these were in infants under 1 year. This is a constant rule that in hot dry weather Diarrha^al diseases increase rapidly, and the fatality falls chiefly upon infants. It is now well-known that Infantile Diarrhoea is largely the result of certain meteorolog^ical conditions, associated with a recognised state ot the soil. These conditions are — a loose porous soil, charged with organic matter, with a certain degree of moisture and a suitable temperature. It is absolutely necessary, therefore, that the soil underneath and around dwellings should be kept free from impurities, by having sewage matter carried away as quickly as possible, and so prevented from soaking' into it; enianations from the soil shut off by layers of concrete and proper damp courses, and ample veiitilation in and about, and underneath houses. Other causes at work, particularly in a district like this, are improper and imperfect feeding, want of proper care and cleanliness, especially in the person of the child and the vessels used for the storage and preparation of the food, &c. The mother should, when possible, in every instance nurse her own cliild, and in other cases cow’s milk — modified it may be—should be given lor the first eight or nine months of life.