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102
The first twenty years of the present century produced 7,488
notifications of scarlet fever with 111 deaths. Notifications recorded
in the twenty year period ended 1950 aggregated 4,476 with only
16 deaths. From these figures it appears that although prevalence
is still high, the disease has become much milder in form and that
mortality has declined to a marked degree.
Erysipelas.—Compared with the 20 cases for 1949, 7 notifications
were received during the current year and of these, 2 were
removed to hospital.
The one fatal case recorded concerned an elderly lady of 82
years who died at the close of the previous year but in respect of
whom notification was not received until the commencement of the
year under review.
Zymotic Enteritis or Epidemic Diarrhoea (Children under
5 years of age.).—Originally 19 cases were notified but this figure was
modified and 13 were eventually recorded as confirmed, compared
with 18 for the previous year. Of these, 10 were under one year and
3 were between 1 and 5 years.
Two deaths were registered from among the 10 cases receiving
hospital treatment and one from the 3 remaining patients treated
at home.
Epidemic Enteritis frequently accompanies hot summers and
proves fatal to many children under one year of age. The mortality
figure, however, diminishes rapidly from that age onwards. The
disease is prevalent among bottle-fed children and it is also more
widespread where sanitary arrangements are poor.
In 1911 when the complaint was not notifiable, there were 159
deaths from epidemic diarrhoea alone and, as a result, consent was
obtained from the Local Government Board for this disease to be
made notifiable during the four summer months commencing June,
1912. Permanent compulsory notification, however, was not introduced
until 12th July, 1919, since when, with the exception of one or
two years, the numbers of notifications and deaths have steadily
declined to this year's figures of 13 and 3 respectively.
Dysentery.—In the first instance 2 cases were notified, neither
of which were confirmed. Subsequently, a notified case of Zymotic
Enteritis was rediagnosed as Dysentery. This one case compares
with 2 in 1949 and 5 in 1948.
Scabies.—The Scabies Order, 1941, made under the Defence
(General) Regulations, 1939, and introduced as an emergency wartime
measure to meet exceptional circumstances, was rescinded by