HH62/2/LANARK/32

Transcription

[Page] 32

Ages at Death. - Of the total number of deaths in the
landward districts of the county 25 per cent. were in infants
under 1 year, or, as usually stated, 125 per 1,000 births.
Between the ages of 1 and 5, 620 deaths took place,
making for children under 5 years of age a total mortality
of 1,631, or a death-rate of 7·8 per 1,000 of the whole
population. This rate, although often exceeded, suggests
what is not infrequently too manifest in the course of our
inspections, a great waste of child life, due to ignorance,
carelessness, and deficient house accommodation.
The deaths in persons over 60 years of age numbered
941, or 70 less than the number of children who died under
1 year.

Causes of Death. - Throughout the landward portion of
the county 623 deaths were registered as due to preventable
diseases, yielding a zymotic rate of 2·976 per 1,000. Of
these diseases, as is seen from the accompanying table,
diarrhœa was the most fatal, and to this is due very largely
the high mortality in children, 153 of the total of 175 being
in children under 5 years of age Diphtheria also was
responsible for a large share of the zymotic mortality, there
being 90 deaths recorded, while from enteric or typhoid
there were 92 deaths.
These three diseases, diarrhœa, diphtheria, and enteric or
typhoid, all of which are pre-eminently filth diseases -
diseases, that is to say, dependent for their propagation and
development on impure air or impure water - thus con-
tribute 357 deaths during the year.
From tubercular diseases there died during the year
the large number of 505 persons, and of these deaths 318
were due to pulmonary consumption.
The only other cause of death to which I will specially
refer is "violence," to which 190 deaths (or 4·6 per cent. of
the total mortality) were attributed. As might be expected
from the nature of their industries, the Middle and Lower
Wards had the highest proportion of violent deaths.

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[Table inserted - not complete - corrected on next page]