The following table shows the number of deaths and the monthly death rate per 1,000 population, in each of the 37 largest cities in Ohio, for the month of September, 1917. Cities. Number. Rate.

Cities.

Number. Rate. Akron 168 1.9 Lorain

35 Alliance 31 1.6 Mansfield

33 1.4 Ashtabula 23 1.0 Marietta

13 1.0 Bellaire 17 1.1 Marion

27 1.2 Canton 84 1.3 Massillon

21 1.4 Cambridge 16 1.2 Middletown

20 1.2 Chillicothe 27 1.7 Newark

31

1.0 Cincinnati

479
Norwood

18

.8 Cleveland

837
1.2
Piqua

22 1.5 Columbus 254 1.1 Portsmouth

40 1.4 Dayton 148 1.1 Sandusky

34 1.7 East Liverpool. 33 1.4 Steubenville

41 1.4 Elyria 33 1.7 Springfield

75 1.4 Findlay 15 1.0 Tiffin

9 Ironton 21 1.5 Toledo

249 1.3 Hamilton

45
1.0 Warren

20 1.5 Lakewood 32 2.0 Youngstown

73

.7 Lancaster 16 1.0 Zanesville

46 1.5 Lima

46 1.4

1.2

Public Health Nursing Service

Report for November, 1917

Ashtabula
Athens
Bellefontaine
Bucyrus
Cambridge
Canton
Cincinnati-Anti-Tuberculosis League..
Cincinnati-V. N. A...
Circleville
Columbus-Anti-Tuberculosis League..
Columbus-D. N. A..
Cuyahoga Falls
Delaware
Elyria
Greenfield
Kenton
Lancaster
Lima
Lorain
Mansfield
Marietta
Marion
Massillon
Norwalk
Piqua

Home Other
visits. visits.

90 40
83 32
67

6
130 32

97 129 534

907 144
1,567

176 6
1,197
2,342

320 18
162

22
129 13

84 54
270 38
122 37
554 48
164
196

6

40 164 30 365 28 95 63 74 54

Number Number

patients nurses under care. employed. 80

1 69

1 19

1 16

1 25

2 66

3 1,202

7 331

12 49

1

5 690

11 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

25

The 5,765 patients under care, except the 65 given as “not listed," were grouped as follows, according to the nature of their cases: Communicable diseases Tuberculosis

2,875 All others....

170 Maternity — Prenatal

205 Postnatal

193 Infants under two years old.

608 Eye Infants under 2 years old.

24 All others

39 Other diseases Medical

796 Surgical

462 Social service

328

Total

5,700

SUICIDE TOTAL LESS

The

average suicide rate per IN SIX CITIES OF OHIO 100,000 population in these six Ohio's suicide rate dropped cities in 1916 was 12.9.

For pre

vious greatly during 1916, if statistics

years

the

averages were: for the cities of Cleveland, Cincin

1901-05, 16,5; 1906-10, 19.3; 1911nati, Columbus, Toledo, Dayton and Massillon, recently published Individual averages in the six by the Spectator, New York insur- cities for 1916 were: Dayton 27.5, ance monthly, can be accepted as Toledo 20.9, Cleveland 20.5, Cinindicative of conditions in the state- cinnati 16.6, Columbus 15-4, Masat-large.

sillon 6.5.

15, 19.8.

WAR AIDS STUDY OF sary to effect the corrections for CANCER STATISTICS

age and sex, crude death-rates for Following are extracts from the

such limited areas can only be misstatement of Dr. J. A. Murray,

leading and may cause unnecesDirector of the Imperial Cancer

sary alarm and distress. Research Fund, in the Fifteenth

"Undue importance should not Annual Report of the Fund, 1916

be attached to the interruption in

1915 of the steady yearly increase 1917: "The importance which has

of cancer mortality, the first since

1907. The conditions are abnoralways been attached by statisticians to the age-constitution of

mal, and as was pointed out in the populations in which cancer mor

Annual Report two years ago, the tality has to be studied, receives

dislocation and diminution of the

civil medical service by war constriking justification by the results recorded in the Seventy-eighth

ditions, may well affect the fidelity Report of the Registrar-General

with which the national mortality (1915) published this year. The

figures reflect the absolute inci

dence of such a disease as cancer." withdrawal of a large number of young men from civil life constitutes a most valuable statistical ex

HEALTH IN CAMPS periment, showing the effects of a sudden alteration in the age-con

His friends had known him for stitution of a population.”

a number of years as a young man “The majority of the men with- who had his "good times” and drawn from civil life are under 35 plenty of them. He had been years of age, and the cancer mor- raised under conditions approxitality figures for 1915 show the mating those of the average Saneffects on a population of retain- dusky home, with neither luxuries ing the female sex in its normal nor hardships, and had received a proportions, while profoundly fair education. Then he had taken altering the relative proportions of up clerical work and later had bethe males above and below the age come

salesman. He was, in at which cancer is an important short, an average, good sort of cause of death. ..

young chap, unaccustomed to man"The change in the male popu- ual labor and certainly unused to lation is on a large scale, affecting self-denial. the whole country, and has taken He was called to the colors and place abruptly. It is analogous to a month or so ago he left with a those minor differences in age- contingent for a training camp. constitution which have been at- Within a few days he had discardtained slowly in isolated commu- ed his citizens' clothes, donned a nities, and which go far to account uniform, and became a private in for the phenomena of cancer vil- the ranks, doing his regular turn lages and cancer streets.

at drills and other work, washing It is obvious that the varying con- his own dishes and clothes, and ditions in limited areas at the pres- eating very ordinary food that ent time must produce anomalies, wouldn't have tempted him at and in fact, in some districts the home. Not only this but he was deaths of males from cancer going to bed early each night and equal, or even exceed, those of was out early in the morning. females. Without the data neces- The other day he came home,

a

a

along with some other comrades, In other words, barring accidents for a few hours' visit. And every

and casualties in the service, the where he went his friends com- average life of a man in the milimented upon his fine appearance, tary service has been considerably He stood more erect, with head lengthened. and shoulders back. His uniform In comparison with our expeand overcoat of khaki fit him ex- riences in previous wars, notably cellently. His face was clear and

in the Spanish-American war, this ruddy, like that of a healthy, ro- showing of health in the camps is bust farmer boy. He had gained so excellent as to be most encourslightly in weight and his muscles aging. Our surgeons and army were like iron. He said he had a

officersofficers have learned that fine appetite, hadn't touched

the prime essential is good, subdrink of liquor since he left home, stantial food and sanitary surand in every way was feeling "fit."

roundings. The results attained The case is typical of many. Al

are so altogether excellent as to most without exception, the boys make us hope that the day is not who come home from camp appear far distant when we shall have stronger and better, physically, universal military training. Even than when they left home. The

though there should be no further rigorous training has done them a

use for armies in the future, the world of good. They enjoy hard training would at least be good for work and the coarse, substantial

our young men. Sandusky Starfood. They find that they can get Journal. along very well without strong drink, and with only occasional sweets sent them by the “folks

DEPARTMENT TO LEND back home.” They have come

WATER CHLORINATOR through the period of vaccination

IN EMERGENCY CASES and inoculation, making them immune to typhoid fever, smallpox,

The division of sanitary enetc., and life in the open air, with

gineering of the State Department plenty of exercise, has developed

of Health now possesses an emerthem and toughened them wonder- gency apparatus for the chlorinafully. They have acquired, in fact,

tion of water, which will be availwhat they would have paid a physi

able for use by any city of the cian a good-sized fee to assure to

state when need suddenly arises them.

for temporary

disinfection of Ail reports indicate that the water. The division has been health of the men in the military

hampered by difficulty in obtaining camps is remarkably good. Of

chemicals for the machine, but as course there are some cases of ill- soon as this difficulty is overcome, ness and occasionally some man is

no obstacles will be in the way of found who is physically unfit to

its services. undergo the rigorous program of The chlorinator was used for training. The percentage of cases several weeks recently in Hamilof sickness, however, is really ton, where the calling into use of lower than among the same num- an emergency water supply made ber of civilians at home, and the disinfection necessary. The Hamdeath rate, not only in the camps ilton city authorities in this case in this country, but "somewhere in obtained the materials which the France," is far below the average. department could not supply.

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS BY DIVISIONS

DIVISION OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Notifiable Diseases, December, 1917 Prevalence. For the month of December, 6,785 cases of notifiable diseases were recorded to date of January 15, 32 cases less than were reported for December, 1916, (6,817 cases) and 1,929 less than for December, 1915, (8,714 cases). Thé cities of the state, together with Camp Sherman and the aviation field at Fairfield, reported 4,212 cases, 62 percent of the December total, as compared with 66 percent of the total reported by the same health districts for November and 70 percent for October. In order of greatest reported prevalence for the month, the diseases list as follows: (1) Chickenpox 1,438 cases, (2) smallpox 1,050, (3) diphtheria 752, (3) scarlet fever 752, (4) whooping cough 540, (5), mumps 471, (6) measles 456, (7) tuberculosis 382, (8) pneumonia 369, (9) measles (German) 149, and (10) ophthalmia neonatorum 105 cases.

For no other one notifiable disease was a total of 100 or more cases recorded for December. A total of 645 health districts, 30 percent of all districts, recorded the presence of one or more cases of notifiable diseases during December, compared with 25 percent recording disease in November and 26 percent in October.

Smallpox. The total of 1,050 cases of smallpox recorded to date of January 15, for the month of December exceeds by almost 200 cases the total for any month on record for the past five years, the January, 1914, total of 883 being the next highest. With the increased prevalence of the disease when prompt case reports are most valuable, health officers have unfortunately failed to submit as great a proportion of case cards as usual. It is the aim of the reporting system to secure the case history card for every case of notifiable disease. The system should not fall down in times of epidemics when it is most valuable. Health officers will endeavor to submit all back cards if they desire their records and their reputations valued. The following table shows the distribution of cases by counties for the past two months.

3

REPORTED CASES OF SMALLPOX. BY COUNTIES, NOVEMBER AND

DECEMBER, 1917.
County
Nor. Dec. County

Nov. Dec. Allen

1 Cuyahoga

84 135 Athens 4 15 Darke

10 28 Auglaize

6 Defiance

4 Belmont

1
Delaware

1 Butler 10 38 Erie

5 Clark

14
7 Fairfield

3

5 Clermont 1 Fayette

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