[Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, Penzance U.D.C. / Borough.
- Penzance (England). Urban District Council.
- Date:
- 1898
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, Penzance U.D.C. / Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
9/18 page 6
![[4] 302 births (i68 male, 134 female) were registered during the year. 222 deaths (113 male, 109 female) were recorded. These figures give a natural increase of 80, a birth-rate of 24’16, a general death-rate of 1776. The death- rate, corrected by exclusion of visitors’ deaths, is 1672 per 1,000. The infantile mortality is 255 per 1,000 births, the zymotic death-rate 2-64 per 1,000 living; infantile summer Diarrhoea being mainly responsible for the excessive amount of both. Included in the deaths are those of 13 persons not belonging to the district. Of these, seven took place within the West Cornwall Infirmary, viz.— two from injuries, one from Heart-disease, one from Chronic Phthisis, one from Cancer, one from Cerebral Haemorrhage, and one from Rheumatic Fever. This last, which occurred in the person of a young market-gardener from Madron, is notable as being a rare cause of death among us. Other deaths of visitors were:— one from Broncho-pneumonia (in infancy), one from Heart-disease, two from Brain- affections, and one from Phthisis of six years’ standing. The 13th was an inquest case, in which a verdict of “ Death from natural causes ” was returned. Of the deaths of our own people, one took place at the West Cornwall Infirmary from injury, 14 were from Heart-disease, 37 from Respiratory diseases, 13 from Phthisis (a low proportion), one from Influenza (at 77), one from Erysipelas (at 82), one from Scarlet Fever (at three years), one from Typhoid Fever (at 21 months), nine from W’hooping Cough (eight under five years of age), and 21 from Diarrhoea (20 being cases of summer Diarrhoea in infants). The Influenza Epidemic. Influenza was prevalent during the first three months of the year. The death therefrom took place on the 2nd April, but the largest number of cases seemed to exist during the month of February, at which time also is noted an exceptional mortality from Respiratory diseases and from Phthisis. In this month the death- rates of the old and of the very young (and especially of the latter) were raised to a high figure in the Bronchitis and Pneumonia table. January was a sunless, humid month, and in February 26 of the 28 are recorded as “ rainy days.” February is responsible for 12 of the 37 deaths occurring from Respiratory disease throughout the year, and for 5 of the 15 deaths from Phthisis registered during the same period. Learning on February 2nd that many teachers and scholars had recently become affected with Influenza I recommended the closing of the Elementary Schools until February 7th, to allow of their cleansing and free ventilation. This was done, and appeared to have a marked effect in preventing further extension of the malady. Summer Diarrhoea. Three deaths took place in July, 14 in August, and three in September, making a total of 20,—all under 13 months of age. In 1897 17 deaths occurred from this cause, and in 1896 five. It may be remarked that the summers were hotter](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29986655_0011.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
