Early in the investigations of the Chicago Pneumonia Commission,1 it was found that the death rates from the acute respiratory diseases were exceedingly high in children under 5 years of age, and that, therefore, the occurrence of the diseases at this age period deserved special consideration.
The annual death rates from the acute respiratory diseases in Chicago in children under 5 years of age (from 1905 to 1924), per 100,000 of population at this age period are shown in Chart 1. This chart also shows the death rates from the acute respiratory diseases at all ages, per 100,000 population. The term, acute respiratory diseases as used in this report, includes pneumonia (all forms), acute bronchitis and influenza.
An analysis of these rates shows the following relationship of the deaths from the acute respiratory diseases in children under 5 years of age to the total death rate from acute respiratory