Morning journal and courier., 1892-03-09
THE HEALTH BOARD.

The Health Omcer's Summing Up for the Year-SoIne Interesting Facts
 and Statistics-SanftaryP Plumbing
 Notable December in New Haven.
 Mayor Sargent presided at the meeting of the board of health last evening.
 The health officers annual report was read, an abstract of which is given below.
 The matter of enforcing an order from the board, ordering William Button to put in sanitary condition property at 5s Put nam street, was referred to the city attor- ney, as also the matter of enforcing the order to the owners of property at the cor ner of St. John and Hamilton Streets, to clean and put in sanitary condition said property. The following is an abstract of the health officers report:
 The ordinance concerning plumbing, which became law in July last which is yet for many reasons but experimental, will in years to come be of inestimable | value to the people, both as regards health l and the pecuniary value of property. If | the ordinance had been retroactive and | framed in such manner as to cover the old and sadly defective plumbing we now have, it would have been of more imme- | diate value to those who must rent second | and third rate houses, to whom a cheap rent is more attractive than sanitary | home If this old and defective plumbing 1 can be legally legislated against I would respectfully recommend to your board that some bill covering this de- feet be immediately introduced before the court of common council for it's con- sideration and adoption if it seems advis- able and practicable. Many large tene- ment houses in this city have no plumbing but sheet iron pipe put in years ago, and now even these are rusted out and full of holes. In speaking of the house for con- | tagious diseases erected by the town the 1 greatest objection that can be raised against the present quarters is the loca tion, it being so far from the center of the l city.
 Speaking of epidemic influenza Dr.
 Wright says:
 Last year, for the most part, was unusu
 ally healthy, but two attacks of epidemic influenza, one in March ana one in Decem
 ber, so brought up the number of death.
 that it has been exceeded but once in thu
 history of the city, namely, 1890, the yea
 we had our first visitation of influenza.
 The number of deaths for 1891 was 1 ,67-
 and 1 ,742 for 1890. The death rate pe
 thousand for these two years, exclusive O.
 deaths in public institutions, was 17.54
 and 1882 respectively.
 Zymotic diseases have prevailed less dur
 ing the last eight months than at any tim
 during the last five years, and the numbe 1 of deaths from this class of diseases ha
 not been so small since 1887, when tn
 number was seventeen less. Out of 36
 cases reported during the year there wer
 twenty seven deaths, or one death in IS l.
 cases reported, while the year before W
 had six fatal cases out of ninety eight re ported, or one in 16 1-3.
 The number of deaths from diphtheri
 for the year was 57, only about one hal
 the number of the previous year and les
 than any year since 1887. There were re
 ported during the year 229 cases of dipt theria against BOA the year preceding. Typhoid fever has given comparative1
 little trouble during the year. There we1 but 101 cases reported sixteen fatal. smaller number of deaths from this dis , ease than has occurred since 1880 whe | there were but fifteen.
 Of constitutional diseases the only nt ; ticeable change is the marked decrease
 the number of deaths from phthisic. I , 1890 there were 230 deaths from tn : dreaded disease, whereas last year the1 2 were only 1S0 such deaths. As said in my report last year fe f several months immediately followin
 an epidemic of influenza, the number c 2 deaths from bronchitis and pneumonia largely increased and the number fro1
 phthisis is much lessened. Consequent my belief is strengthened that infiuen7
 proves fatal only to those who naturall
 have weak lungs and those debilitsted b
 long sickness or old age.
 Under local diseases the only division
 which it is necessary to speak is that diseases of the respiratory system. Ep demic influenza is properly zymotic di I ease, but the physicians of New Have = have 50 coufounded bronchitis and pne1 f monia that have classified the few deatl i returned as due to influenza in the abo' n division. I think it :s generally admitte f by physicians that the influenza attacks n 1891 were much milder than those of 189 . and certainly less fatal.
 . Notwithstanding the mildness of the di r ease this last winter, believe that Q month ever witnessed as much sickness ', New Haven as did the month of Decemb
 last
 The following is the quarantine repo1
 During the quarantine season of 18 Q sixteen vessels subject to quarantine du entered the port of New Haven, and ea' T received clear bill of health. These ve @ sels were as follows:
 n Thirteen from British provinces, o s from the West Indies, ono coastwise a,
 one from Egypt
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