The herald., 1898-12-19
HOW 1T rs LOOKED AFTER AND
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE
DR.. POWERS ANNUAL REPORT
More Deaths Than Births for the Year.
The Biological Annex and Its
Value-Food and Milk


ering mortality statistics for the past year
and making several suggestions for the bet.
terment of the city's sanitary condition
For the purpose of condensation, much OF the
statistical matter of the report has been
eliminated, the principal matter only being
published The report says:
There were 1901 deaths reported during the
year, giving a rate of 1854 per thousand,
using the estimate of population for 1896
(l03,O 3,OO0), an increase of tc.al deaths in the
city over last year of 1S9. OF the 1901 deaths,
los occurred in the various hospitals; 145
of the 1876 died in the county hospital,
which receives patients from all Los Angeles
county The coroner certified to 1874 of the
deaths reported. OF these there were %
deaths from suicide, % males and females;
Is natives of the United States, 10 foreign
born; not one suicide by Mongolian or an
African.
There were 100 deaths of children under
the age of year, and AZ between the ages of
! and years, "a between 2 and years. SO
between and 10 years. Total number of
deaths of children under the age of 10 years,
25S,' giving 1915 per cent of the total deaths
OF the city. Total deaths of children under
10 yeers of age for 1897 was 324, or 22S7 per
cent Of the deaths which occurred in the
city OF all ages.
Thirty-one deaths reported to have been
caused by tuberculosis of other parts OF the
body than the lungs and 304 deaths reported
as "phthisis," Consumption" and "tuber-
ellosis of the lungs" we presume to class as
tuberculosis, giving a total of 1886 deaths from
tubercular disease, or 20.3 per cent of the
total deaths in the city. We had in 1897
355 deaths from the same causes, giving a
death rate of 4.40 per cent of all deaths for
thSt year.
OF the 1886 deaths reported during the
present year, 2S5 were of persons born in
other states or countries, 80 on the Pacific
coast and II in Los Angeles. OF these 2l9
bad lived in the county less than ten years,
and of the 2l9, 90 had lived in the city lesi
than one year.
There were 1878 births reported, so OF
which were still born, leaving 1909 living
children. OF these 800 were males and $50
females, 1469 were whites and 40 were coll
ored; 003 children were born OF parents
natives Of the United States, 2s3 of parents
of foreign birth; 30S with one parent native
of the United States and the other foreign;
Is nativites of parents unknown.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Smallpox has been prevalent in the ad
Joining territories, and we have been very
fortunate in not having more trouble
with this disease. In the summer DIR. j S.
Brown reported a case Of suspected vario-
loid in a lady, who was removed to the
county hospital, ard the contents of her
residence were disinfected. In the early
part of November DIR. Carl Kurtz notified
fb;c ofEoa of of lfnoy n q follr-
Isl who arrived few days before from
Mexico, and was stopping at lodging house.
We promptly removed the patient to the
smallpox hospital, disnfected the contents
of his room, and closed the same for time.
This latter proved to be a severe case Of con-
duent smallpox.
The board requires all cases of scarlet
fever and dphthera to be reported, and
the residence of each patient to be placard-
ed. During this year there were 25l cases
Of diphtheria reported to the office, % of
which proved fatal, giving death rate of
Ills per cent of all cases OF diphtheria re-
ported. There were reported last year
(1s97) 3l6 cases, 81 of which proved fatal,
giving percentage of ll.66.
In February Of this year, with the aid of
physicians, we commenced making cultures
and microscopic examinations of all sus-
pected cases of diphtheria, and succeeded
In establishing rule requiring cultures and
microscopic examinations to prove the ex-
istence of the disease and to- show abserfce
of the germs in the throats of patients be-
fore removing the quarantine Since we
commenced these examinations we have
made 303 cultures of 900 patients, l3O of
which proved to have dkphthera. Of the
22O cases clinical diagnosis of diphtheria
was made in $50 cases, tonsilitis in 30, and in
20 no clinical diagnosis was made. Anti
toxin was used in ll3 of the l30 cases. BY
this means we have been enabled to assist
the physicians in making correct diagnoses,
and to exclude persons who were infected
from the public schools or other places until
all danger of infection had disappeared.
There were llS cases of scarlet fever report
ed, one of which proved fatal.
LABORATORY WORK
Typhoid fever and measles are required to
be reported to the office, but the residences
of patients are not pacarded. Two hun
dred and eighty-tive cases of typhoid fever
were reported, "A of which proved fatal,
giving death rate of 15.43 per cent. There
has been an increase of this disease during
the summer and fall months We have been
unable to assign any definite cause for the
same. Contributing causes have been, prob
ably, infected milk infected vegetables from
sewage irrigated gardens, house infection,
etc. We have made Widal's or the serum
test for typhoid fever in IA cases, the test
proving the existence of the disease in 53
A thorough establishment of this test will
give the health office the full particulars of
each case of typhoid fever in the city and
the probable source so far as it is possible for
the attending physician to ascertain, thus
aiding the office in locating the source, and
thereby preventing the extension of the
disease.
The benefit derived from laboratory work
in our department is sef-evident and needs
no argument We find our laboratory too
small, and that it is too great a burden for
one man to perform even the present labor
'atory duties without neglecting other i'm
Cortant work that should be attended to in
order that hte sanitary condition of the CITY
may be improved to say nothing of the
great many advantages an expert bacteri.
ologist and chemist in examining the water,
milk and foods, etc, would be. Therefore
we respectfully recommend the establish
1nent in better rooms OF well-fitted. abora-
tory. and the employment of competent
bacteriologist and chemist
The INDECENT poor who were unable to
visit the free dispensary have received med
ical attention whenever we have been noti-
fid of such needed services The city is