Norway: School medical inspection is carried on under the education law of

Roumania: The law of June 14, 1893, charges town physicians with the medical inspection of schools.

Scotland: By the Education Act of 1908, every school committee when called on by the Education Department is required to provide for school medical inspection in accordance with departmental directions.

Switzerland: School medical inspection is carried on in several cantons, under legal provision.

U. S. MATERNAL MORTALITY COMPARATIVELY HIGH. Statistics issued by the Children's Bureau show that while infant mortality is low, the percentage of women who die in child birth is high. The rate in the United States is 6.8 for every 1,000 births. Only two other countries have a higher rate: Belgium, 7.2; Chile, 7.5. Denmark has the lowest rate, 2.

MORTALITY BULLETIN FOR THE WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 27, 1923.

The health of the city during the past week was excellent, there having been 1,121 deaths reported, with a rate of 9.87, as compared with 1,208 deaths and a rate of 10.79 in the corresponding week of 1922, a decrease in the absolute number of deaths of 87, and, if the increase in population be taken into consideration, a relative decrease of 105 deaths.

Measles and scarlet fever stand out as having had no deaths attributed to either one. Two deaths were reported from whooping cough, as compared with 3, and 6 deaths from diphtheria and croup, as compared with 11. Five deaths were reported from encephalitis lethargica, as compared with 2, and 6 deaths from typhoid fever, as compared with 3. Diarrhoeal diseases of infancy also showed a very material increase, there having been 44 deaths reported therefrom, as compared with 23.

Cancer, as usual, showed an increased mortality, 121 deaths having been reported, as compared with 109, an increase of 12. Deaths from lobar pneumonia were exactly the same as 1922 and from organic heart disease almost the same, there having been a decrease of 1 death. Chronic Bright's disease showed a very decreased mortality, there having been 59 deaths reported, as compared with 89. Seventy-eight deaths were reported from pulmonary tuberculosis, as compared with 94, a decrease of 16 deaths. The number of deaths reported from violence was 98, as compared with 106, a decrease of 8. All other causes showed a decrease of 70 deaths.

The record for the week as regards mortality among children was very good indeed. Under one year of age 140 deaths were reported, as compared with 167, a decrease of 27; 34 deaths were reported between one and five years, as compared with 52, a decrease of 18; between five and sixty-five years of age there was a decrease of 39 deaths and at sixty-five years of age and over a decrease of 3 deaths.

The death rate for the first 43 weeks of the year was 11.90 per 1,000 of the population, as compared with a rate of 12.00 in the corresponding period of 1922, a decrease of .10 of a point.

From January 1st to date 68 infants under one year of age died out of every 1,000 born, as compared with a rate of 76 deaths at this age group, a decrease of 8 deaths out of every 1,000 births reported, so that the outlook is very good as to the Department being able to say at the end of the year that there has been a saving of over 1,000 lives among children under one year of age.

PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISION of the MUNICIPAL REFERENCE LIBRARY

CHILD

3rd Floor, 505 Pearl Street

Open to the general public for reference use.

Material will be loaned to persons on the payroll of the City.

PLACING Goodrich, Constance.
Placing children for adoption.

(Hospital

Social Service. Oct., 1923. p. 195-199.) DUST-Nicholson, B. S. The dusted lung with

special reference to the inhalation of silica dust (SiO,) and its relation to pulmonary tuberculosis. (J. Ind. Hyg. October, 1923. p. 220-242, tables, illus.) ENCEPHALITIS-Musser, H., and A. E. Bennett. Catalepsy in epidemic encephalitis. (N. Y. Med. J., and Med. Rec. October 3, 1923. p. 399-402, figs., illus.) FACTORY INSPECTION-Teleky, L. The

medical features of factory inspection together with a review of the literature on industrial hygiene and industrial disease in Germany in 1922. (J. Ind. Hyg., October, 1922. p. 210-219.) FATIGUE-Pattison, H. A. Fatigue as a factor in the cause and treatment of tuberculous disease. (A. M. A. Jour. October 13, 1923. p. 1252-1257.)

FOOD POISONING-Geiger, J. C.

Poison

ing by food probably due to contamina-
tion with certain bacteria; epidemiologi-

Ob

cal analysis of seven hundred and fortynine reported outbreaks in the United States. (A. M. A. Jour. October 13, 1923. p. 1275-1282, charts, tables.) INFANT FEEDING-Bachmann, H. A. servation on the effect of complemental feeding in new-born infants. (Am. J. Dis. Child. October, 1923. p. 349-361, tables.) MEASLES-Clark, M. A.

We must stamp

out measles; a problem for the school nurse. (Trained Nurse. September, 1923. p. 216-218, illus.) MEDICINE-Dickie, W. M.

The place of

medicine in public health. (A. M. A. Jour. October 13, 1923. p. 1247-1250.) MILK-Burhams, C. W., and D. N. Smith. The inorganic constituents of human milk with particular reference to racial variations. (Am. J. Dis. Child. October, 1923. p. 302-306, tables.) PHYSICAL EXAMINATION--Luce, D. S. The work of the school physician. (Bost. M. & S. J., October 11, 1923. p. 510513, illus.)

VITAL STATISTICS-CITY OF NEW. YORK.

Deaths, and Annual Death Rate Per 1,000; Deaths According to Certain Causes and Ages; Deaths and Death Rate Under One Year Per 1,000 Births

For Thirteen Weeks.

Aug. Aug. Aug Aug. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. Sep Oct. Oct. Oct.

Oct.

11
944 1085 1058

18

25
1182 1089

1

22 29
6
1096 1046 1125 1054 1178
9.90

13

20

27

1121

9 28 10 87

9.87

Total deaths

Violent Deaths

"Acute Infectious Diseases" include Typhoid Fever, Scarlet Fever, Measles, Diphtheria Whooping Cough, Smallpox and Cerebro-spinal Meningitis. Does not include suicides.

Mortality Summary for the Week Ending Saturday Noon, October 27, 1923.

i residence.

*Corrected by redistributing deaths, according to borough

During the first forty-three weeks of this year there were 58,168 deaths and a rate of 11.90 per 1,000 population. During the corresponding weeks of last year there and a rate of 12.00 per 1,000 population.

were

57,780

deaths

During the first forty-three weeks of this year 7,232 infants died, a rate of 68. per 1,000 births. During the corresponding weeks of last year, 8,184 died, a rate of 76. per 1,000 births. Infectious Diseases in the Department of Health Hospitals.

1,000 Living

+If the deaths under one month, numbering 65, from all causes, be deducted from the total deaths under one year, the resulting rate will be 30. per 1,000 births (weekly average.) *Includes deaths from Erysipelas 3, Syphilis 7, Diabetes 17, Alcoholism 10, Locomotor Ataxia 0), Paresis 3, Arterio-sclerosis 51, an other congenital causes 8.

Published weekly by the Department of Health, City of New York, 505 Pearl St., New York, N. Y. Entered as Second-Class matter October 16, 1917, at the Postoffice at New York, N. Y. Under Act of March 3, 1879. Subscription, 10 cents. per annum.

FRANK J. MONAGHAN, M. D., Commissioner of Health.

NEW SERIES, VOL. XII.

NOVEMBER 10, 1923.

No. 45.

CLINIC PHYSICIANS WANTED.

The Occupational Clinic of the Division of Industrial Hygiene has two vacancies, one in the Manhattan and one in the Brooklyn Occupational Clinic.

The duties consist of making physical examinations of industrial workers, more especially of food handlers. Time required is 8 hours a week. Those assigned to Brooklyn work in the afternoon, and those to Manhattan, in the morning. The salary is $400 per annum. No civil service examination is required. Physicians interested should communicate with the Director of the Bureau of Public Health Education, telephone Worth 9400. All registered physicians, who are citizens, are eligible.

TYPHOID FEVER IN NEW YORK CITY.
Third Quarter of 1923.

During the third quarter of 1923, 473 cases of typhoid fever were reported to the Department of Health. Thirty-three of these cases were subsequently found to have been erroneously diagnosed as typhoid, bringing the corrected total for the quarter down to 440 cases. In 1922, the corrected total of cases of typhoid was 393 cases. There were, therefore, 47 more cases of typhoid fever in the third quarter of 1923 than in the corresponding quarter of 1922. An increase of 28 cases was noted during the second quarter of this year, as compared with the corresponding quarter of 1922. There has, therefore, been an increase of 75 cases during the half year beginning April 1, 1923, as compared with the same period in 1922.

Fifty-six deaths from typhoid fever were reported during this quarter, as compared with 50 in 1922. The case fatality rate was 12.7 per cent, identical with that of the third quarter of 1922.

The diagnosis in 56 of these 440 cases was confirmed by laboratory examinations; in 1922, 70 per cent of the cases were thus confirmed. The apparent failure to secure laboratory proof of the presence of typhoid fever must bring into ques tion the correctness of the diagnosis in a large percentage of these cases.

The probable source of infection was ascertained in 43 per cent of the cases; in 1922, this was traced in 42 per cent. Cases resulting from contact with a person suffering from this disease were found in 7 instances, as compared with 8 in 1922.