The point that improvements in Yentilation might ish the idence of influenza is made by the Commissioner of Public Health in his report for January, which comments. on the fact that houses and. Places of resort are kept at a much higher temperature than was formerly the ease, with the result that many chills ate caught by people emerging into the cold open air. increase of 3.5 over the previous month in the foreign death rate—13,07 as compared with 12.82 for last. yeat—is attributed mainly to deaths from pneumonia. Prevalence of this disease.is possibly due which took place during the month, {o the rapid change in Lemperature But it is also suggestive of a larger increase in the number of influenza ages than notifications show.
The Chinese death rate was 14.79 as compared with 17.05 last year, and there were 11 deaths from com= muni cable diseases during the month, whevens December's figures showed only eight, continues the report.
The deaths of 1,277 Chinese residents have been "recorded. during the month. This figure is an crease of 131 over last month, In the main the increase is due to expoed corpses 'A total of 58 foreign notified during the month. number 49 were resident in the In ternational Settlement. It is, however, considered that there ts still umber of births remaining unnotified, and arrangements are being nade 8 improve the collection of 'A total of 156 Chinese birth certifleates came to hand during the month, of which 59 were non-resident," There are now five Chinese hospitals which supply birth me formation. However, the paucity of certificates readily indi ha this section of the istration of vital statistics is yet in its infancy.
Knowledge as to the age and sex distribution of the population under review is most important in evaluating the health of any evea, hence the of collection, but every effort will be made to improve methods is needed' from real advance in be made in this work.
There were 3,641 smallpox vaccitations performed during the month, 2648 being performed by the mobile squad, and 993 at the in figures being due holidays.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.