MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY REPORTS AND NEW YORK.-Bulletin of State Department of Health for December, 1901: Population, 7,268,000; deaths, 10,375; death rate, 16.7; deaths under five years, 2,579; at seventy years and over, 1855; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 104; cerebro-spinal meningitis, 38; typhoid fever, 106; malarial diseases, 24; smallpox, 15; scarlet fever, 81; measles, 126; erysipelas, 30; whooping cough, 52; croup and diphtheria, 341; diarrhoeal diseases, 213; acute respiratory diseases, 1,923; consumption, 1,050; puerperal diseases, 94; diseases of the digestive organs (not diarrhoeal), 562; of the urinary system, 835; circulatory system, 1,103; nervous system, 1,123; cancer, 442; old age, 491; unclassified, 1,210. City of New York, 3,536,517; deaths, 5,659; death rate, 18.8; deaths under five years, 1,778; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 120; typhoid fever, 71; smallpox, II; scarlet fever, 54; measles, 105; croup and diphtheria, 209; acute respiratory diseases, 1,233; consumption, 606; cancer, 227. In this city there are now 155 vaccinators at work, and it is reported that about 10,000 persons are vaccinated daily. Besides, at the headquarters, at Fifty-fifth street and Sixth avenue, Manhattan, and the old quarters in Brooklyn, five additional places for public vaccination have been opened. It has been decided to remove all smallpox patients in Brooklyn in future to the Contagious Diseases Hospital in Kingston avenue instead of the hospital on North Brother Island, so as not to expose them to the long trip up the river. The Board of Trustees of Bellevue and allied hospitals have issued an order to the effect that all patients received at Bellevue and the allied hospitals shall be vaccinated on their reception in the institutions, except where the condition of the patients is such as to render the operation inexpedient. Borough of Manhattan, 1,873.562; deaths, 3,206; death rate, 20.0; deaths under five, 1,117; zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 109; typhoid fever, 37; smallpox, 1; croup and diphtheria, 115; acute respiratory diseases, 724; consumption, 296; cancer, 126. Borough of the Bronx, 222, 124; deaths, 424: death rate, 23.0; deaths under five, II; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 84; smallpox, 9 (smallpox hospital in this borough); acute respiratory diseases, 69; consumption, 85; cancer, II. Borough of Brooklyn, 1,209,064; deaths, 1,754; death rate, 17.0; deaths under five, 485; deaths from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 116; smallpox, 1; croup and diphtheria, 70; acute respiratory diseases, 382; consumption, 205; cancer, 79. Borough of Queens, 162,834; deaths, 183; death rate, 13.4; deaths under five, 50; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 110; croup and diphtheria, 10; acute respiratory diseases, 39; consumption, II; cancer, 4. Borough of Richmond, 68,933; deaths, 92; death rate, 16.0; deaths under five, 15; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 75; acute respiratory diseases, 19; consumption, 11; cancer, 7. Albany, 94,151; deaths, 138; death rate, 17.3; deaths under five, 14; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 50; acute respiratory diseases, 20; consumption, 30; cancer, 13. Syracuse, 108,374; deaths, 107; death rate, 12.0; under five years, 21; from zymotic diseases, 78; acute respiratory diseases, 9; consumption, 14; cancer, 7. Buffalo, 352,387; deaths, 446; death rate, 15.0; deaths under five, 132; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 166; from acute respiratory diseases, 70; consumption, 39; cancer, 16. Rochester, 162,608; deaths, 205; death rate, 15.2; deaths under five, 29; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 65; from acute respiratory diseases, 27; consumption, 28; cancer, 11. Total deaths in the State for the year 1901, 129,257; death rate, 17.8; deaths under five, 35,775; from zymotic diseases per 1,000 from all causes, 145; from typhoid fever, 1,741; croup and diphtheria, 3,026; diarrhoeal diseases, 9,337; acute respiratory diseases, 17.589; consumption, 13,766; cancer, 5,033. In addition to the 129,257 deaths for the year reported in the "Monthly Bulletin," there were 1,500 delayed returns, making the death rate 18.0 per 1,000 population. The mortality was 7,500 in excess of the average of the past five years, but the rate was the same as that of 1900. The sanitary districts all participate in the variations in mortality. The infant mortality is unusually low, being 3.500 less than in 1900 and 2,500 less than the average of the past five years. This low rate prevailed throughout the State; it was unusually low in July, being less than in August and September. The deaths at seventy years and over were but one-third as many as those under five years in the maritime district; in the rest of the State they exceeded them by 4,300, and constituted 27.0 per cent. of the total. On The zymotic mortality was 14.5 per cent. of the total, which is above the average. Diarrhoeal diseases were excessive in the maritime district, but below the average in the rest of the State. Scarlet fever caused double the average number of deaths. the other hand, diphtheria caused 500 fewer deaths than the average and was decreased throughout the State. Measles decreased everywhere from the high rate of last year. Typhoid fever was less prevalent, the decrease being most marked in the Hudson and Mohawk Valley districts. Smallpor, following several months of absence, was widely disseminated in November, 1900, by a traveling troupe, and occurred from then to the end of 1901 in 110 localities; 1,100 cases existed in that time, besides 1,982 in the City of New York. There was but one case in fifty of these localities and one-half the entire number occurred in six localities. There were 445 deaths, 426 of which were in the maritime district; this far exceeds any former year. At the end of the year smallpox exists in sixteen localities, in all of which except Buffalo, lumber camps in the vicinity of Tupper Lake, Binghamton and Watertown, there is but one case. The grippe epidemic has this year caused 7,000 deaths, against 11,500 in 1900, the average of eleven previous epidemics being 5.500. There were 1,600 fewer deaths than last year from acute respiratory diseases. About 70 per cent. of the deaths reported from acute respiratory diseases were from pneumonia. CALIFORNIA. San Francisco, 360,000. Report for December: Deaths, 586; death rate, 19.52; deaths from specific febrile diseases, 28; from diphtheria, 19; consumption, 81; acute respiratory diseases, 76; cancer, 34. Los Angeles, 120,000. Report for January: Deaths, 221; death rate, 18.41; deaths under five years, 24; deaths from specific infectious diseases, 55; from diseases of the respiratory organs, 65; tuberculosis of the lungs, 39; of the meninges, II; abdominal viscera, 2; other organs, 2; general, 2; phthisis, 11. "There were 57 deaths from tuberculosis, divided as follows: Natives of Los Angeles, 1; natives of the Pacific Coast outside of Los Angeles, 6; from other parts, 33; of the 57 deaths from tuberculosis 21 had lived here less than three months, 3 between three and six months, 4 between six and twelve months, 7 between one and five years, 11 between five and ten years, 9 over ten years, I life, unknown, 1.” Deaths from acute respiratory diseases, 54. CONNECTICUT.-State Board Bulletin for January: Deaths, 1,172, 27 more than in December and 267 less than in January of last year, and 157 less than the average number of deaths in January for the five years preceding. The death rate was 15.6 for the large towns, for the small towns 15.0, and for the whole State 15.4. The deaths reported from infectious diseases were 243, being 20.7 per cent. of the total mortality. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 278,880. Report for the week ending February 1: Deaths, 107-62 white, 45 colored; death rates respectively, 15.9, 26.1, 19.0. The mortality among children under five years of age rose from 16 to 35, among those under one year old from 14 to 27, of those II being premature births. From consumption deaths decreased from 16 to 10 and from pneumonia from 27 to 16. There were 3 fatal cases of typhoid fever, 3 of grippe and 2 of diphtheria. By violence 9 deaths occurred, 3 of which were suicidal, 2 homicidal and 4 accidental. Of smallpox there were 4 cases under treatment in the hospital. No new case developed during the week, and I being discharged left 3 cases in isolation in the hospital at the closing of this report. To Circumvent Smallpox. ILLINOIS. An extraordinary effort was undertaken by the Health Department of Chicago about the 1st ultimo, for the circumvention of smallpox on a large scale. Its field is an area of some 600,000 square miles of territory in the ten States, of which Illinois is the southern center, and the remotest boundaries of which are within a few hours' railway travel from Chicago. Between December 28, 1900, and January 24, 1901, there were only 1.070 smallpox cases reported in this territory, while during the similar period ended January 24, 1902, there were 10,820 cases reported, an increase of 911 per cent. At a conference between the representatives of the chief railroads centering in Chicago and the Health Department, ready assent was given to the plan proposed which contemplates wholesale vaccination and revaccination in every infected locality; the provision and maintenance of suitable isolation hospitals where necessary; thorough disinfection of smallpox premises and belongings; strict inspection of all persons offering to travel from infected localities and refusal to carry those who do not comply with the requirements. Special attention will be paid to the condition of employees in manufacturing establishments-particularly those of textile fabrics-and the railways will set the example by still more rigorously making recent vaccination a condition of further employment. Competent vaccinators and supplies of pure, tested vaccine lymph will be furnished gratis in all proper cases. The work along each railway line will be under the direct charge of the medical director or chief surgeon of the company and a central office will be maintained in the city for the receipt of reports, requisitions, etc., from those engaged in the campaign. Dr. Reynolds has volunteered to take charge of the central office. Bulletin of the department for the week ending February 8 summarizes "Public Health Reports," and shows that: Three-fourths of all the reported cases of smallpox in the United States at the present are in the territory surrounding and tributary to Chicago, and in a population of only about one-third the total population of the country. The data for this statement are found in the current number of United States "Public Health Reports," in a tabulation of "smallpox in the United States as reported to the Surgeon-General, U. S. M. A., December 28, 1901, to January 31, 1902." The total cases so reported foot up 11,167, of which number 8,147, or 73 per cent., are in Chicago territory. During the corresponding period last year the proportion was almost exactly reversed-30 per cent. in Chicago territory and 70 per cent. in the rest of the country. The reports from much of the Chicago territory are notoriously defective. For example, the table gives for the period only 6 infected points and 174 cases in Illinois; during the week reports of 20 infected points and 645 cases for the period were received. In Indiana only 2 infected points and 18 cases are given in the table; 30 infection centers and a corresponding number of cases are known; in Michigan only 2 instead of 140 infected localities and 13 instead of upward of 300 cases. Only one infected locality is given in Missouri, but scores more are known and there are in the neighborhood of 250 cases in St. Louis alone, according to a press dispatch which gives Health Commissioner Starkloff as authority. Not a single case is reported in Des Moines, Iowa, and only 95 cases in the whole State; yet the State Board of Health has taken radical measures with the capital city of Iowa and before adjourning on the 8th inst. adopted the following preamble and resolution: |