HH62/45/215

Transcription

[Page] 32

3. Advice has been given in connection with water supplies and the prevention
of the pollution of rivers. No certificates have been required to be granted under the
Public Health Acts, neither has any action been required in connection with the
sanitary condition of Factories and Workshops in the District.
4. Retail Bakehouses - There are now six in operation in the Eastern
District; these were inspected and found to be kept in good order. One new
Bakehouse was opened during the year in Kirkmichael, and the premises, though
rather small, are very suitable for the purposes intended. It would be a decided
benefit to those erecting new Bakehouses if the plans were submitted to the Medical
Officer before building operations are commenced, as, at that time, any little alteration
could be effected without expense, whereas, after the building is finished, changes
sometimes mean considerable outlay.
5. The arrangement by which the Perth Royal Infirmary is used as the
Infectious Hospital for the Eastern District has been found to work well during the
past year. Six patients were removed, and all made good recoveries. The Medical
Officer, from his position on the Staff of the Infirmary, has had full opportunities of
supervising the isolation and treatment of patients removed from the Eastern
District. The Hospital reserved for the treatment of Smallpox cases has not been
required during the year, but, should it be required, it is ready for use on very short
notice.
6. The Infectious Disease Notification Act has now been in operation in the
Eastern District for a little over a year, and, whilst in many instances the notifications
received have been of much service in checking the spread of the disease, yet over
and over again from the ignorance of the householder, and the absence of a Medical
attendant, notifications have failed to give the timely warning expected. When
Infectious Disease has broken out, those in charge have, with one exception, been
found willing to carry out any directions given to ensure the protection of the public.
That these precautions were really attended to is proved by the fact that, although
the outbreaks frequently occurred in circumstances where the least carelessness would
have certainly resulted in a wide-spread dissemination of the disease, it was invariably
confined to the houses in which it first broke out. In all cases of Infectious Disease,
disinfectants have been freely supplied during the illness, and, at its termina-
tion a special supply has been given for the disinfection of the rooms and
clothing.
7. Respiratory Diseases caused 28 deaths, or 18.9 per cent. of the total
during 1894, as compared with the same number in 1893. Of the 28, 11 occurred in
persons over 60 years of age, and 6 in children under 1 year.
Circulatory Diseases caused 16 deaths, or 10.8 per cent. of the total during
1894, as compared with 19 in 1893. Of these 16 deaths, 10 were in persons over 60
years of age.
Tubercular Diseases caused 13 deaths or 8.7 per cent. of the total during
1894, as compared with 21 in 1893. Of these 13 deaths, 10 were attributed to
Pulmonary Phthisis. Deaths due to Tubercular Diseases show a marked decrease
during 1894, and especially so under the heading, "Other than Phthisis."
This is a satisfactory condition of matters.
Diseases of the Nervous System caused 19 deaths, or 12.8 per cent. of the
total during 1984, as compared with 13 in 1893. Of these 19, the age at death was
over 60 in 13.
Diseases of the Digestive System caused 8 deaths, or 5.4 per cent. of the
total during 1894, as compared with 13 in 1893.

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Cancer and Malignant Diseases caused 7 deaths, or 4.7 per cent. of the total
during 1894, as compared with the same number in 1893. Of the 7 deaths from
these diseases, 4 occurred in males and 3 in females.
Developmental Diseases caused 5 deaths, of which 3 were attributed to
premature birth during 1894, as compared with 8 in 1893.
Old Age was given as the cause of death in 18 instances, or 12.1 per cent. of
the total during 1894. As compared with deaths from the same cause, in 1893 this
shows a decrease of 15 in 1894.
Zymotic Diseases caused 9 deaths during 1894, the same number as in 1893.
The Zymotic Death-rate was .930 for 1894. In all, 78 cases were reported during
the year.
Scarlet Fever caused 1 death during 1894. In all 48 cases of the disease were
reported during the year, as compared with 31 in 1893. The cases of this disease
were widely scattered through the District, but there was never any alarming spread
of the disease, although in many instances whole families were down with it
before its nature was recognised. That there was no wide-spread epidemic in the
District seems wonderful, when the masterly inactivity shown in dealing with
Infectious Diseases in some of the Burghs is taken into account. In one case of the
disease imported into the District from Glasgow, the guardian of the patient defied
the Local Authority, and, in disobedience to the orders of the Medical Officer,
removed the patient by the railway to Glasgow whilst in an infectious condition.
The case was reported fro prosecution, but was spoiled by failure to present it
properly before the Sheriff. Although no conviction was obtained, the proceedings
had a salutary effect.
Enteric Fever. - Seven cases of this diseases were reported during 1894, as
compared with 21 in1893. The type of the diseases was mild, and the cases were
scattered throughout the District. The infection was accounted for either by
contact with infected centres outside the District, or by insanitary conditions of the
premises and surroundings.
Diphtheria caused 4 deaths during 1894, as compared with 1 in 1893. In all
6 cases of the disease were reported during the year, as compared with 4 in1893.
These figures show a case mortality of 66.6, which is exceptionally high, even for such
a fatal disease as Diphtheria. In one case the disease was attributed to the child
having fallen into a cesspool a few days previous to his sickening, and in another
the cause seemed to be a faulty condition of the drainage, but in the other cases the
cause of the disease was uncertain. In many country houses there exists no
provision for ventilating under the floors, and this, when combined with a damp soil
is found to be one of the most certain means of generating the environments which
favour the development of Diphtheria.
Measles caused 1 death during 1894.
Whooping-Cough caused 2 deaths, both in children under 3 years of age.
Deaths in which the cause was uncertified, or insufficiently stated, were 6 during
1894, as compared with 12 in 1893.

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