[Report 1897] / Medical Officer of Health, Nelson Borough.

  • Nelson (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1897] / Medical Officer of Health, Nelson Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    BOROUGH OF NELSON To the NELSON, 28th Januaky, 1898. (Cl)ainnan auh iHcmbcrs of tijc 1|ealt!j Committw. Gentlemen, I have the honour to present you my Annual Eeport on the health and sanitary condition of the Borough. I shall adhere to the plan I have hitherto adopted in my reports and give you the formal record of the hirths and deaths which occurred in the borough during the year. I find 876 births (455 males, 421 females) were registered, wl)ich gives an annual birth-rate of 27‘3 per 1,000. The deaths registered (including premature hirths and inquest cases) numbered 452 (237 males, 215 females), which gives an annual death-rate of 14-] per 1,000. If we exclude premature births (30) and inquest cases (13) it gives a rate of 12-7 per 1,000. The deaths of children under one year (including premature births) totalled 152, giving a death- rate of 17'3 per cent, calculated on the number born during the year. The following table epitomises the ages at which the deaths occurred;— Deaths under 1 year ,, of 1 year and under 5 years ,, of 5 years ,, 15 ,, ,, of 15 ,, ,, 25 ,, of 25 ,, ,, 65 ,, ,, of 65 ,, and over ... 152) 79 • 26\ 27 n 100 ' 68 231 deaths under 5 years. 221 over 5 years. I enclose a detailed list of the causes of death and the ages at which they died. Under the “Notification of Infectious Diseases Act” there have been reported 115 cases of Scarlet Fever, 22 of Enteric Fever, 1 Relapsing Fever, and 19 of Diphtheria. In these cases the Health Superintendent took the requisite steps to prevent their spread, notifying not only the parents but also the School Authorities—thus efficiently prohibiting any children from infected houses attending school—suppl3ung disinfectants, attending to the drains, ashpits, &c. I mentioned in my Annual Report for 1896 that we were free of any epidemic until December, when measles appeared. This epidemic developed into so severe and fatal a type that no less than 54 deaths were recorded during the first quarter of the year frorti measles and its complications. This accounts for the high rate of 21’5 for that quarter. We had an exceedingly cold east wind nearly all the quarter, to which the chest complications were mainly attributable. About 90 per cent, of the deaths were complicated with bronchitis, pneumonia, or both (broncho-pneumonia)'. I pointed out in my Report for the March quarter, and I repeat it, that the majority of parents think all they have to do in a case of measles is to keep the child warm and get perspira¬ tion freely established and all will be right in a day or two, but unfortunately when that is done they relax their care, and the little one is exposed to cold, which brings on some fatal complication. The teachers in the different schools were advised to be very careful (when any one was absent) in ascertaining the cause, and If that cause were measles not to admit any from that house, but it was found necessary to close the schools, which was done for a fortnight. Several of the Sunday Schools were also closed. The epidemic was pretty well got over in the first quarter, as we had only one death in the second quarter. The death-rates for the several quarters were ;—1st quarter, 215; 2nd quarter, 13-3; 3rd quarter, 9 6; 4th quarter, 12.