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The percentages for the year 1900 in the above table relate to 330 cases. The
figures show that during the period A, that is during the time the milk from the farm
in Staffordshire would be directly operative, the percentage of persons attacked aged
from 5—15 years was lower than that of persons belonging to the same age group
during the period B, and also lower when compared with the figures for the same age
period during the year 1900. For the age periods 15—25 and 26—65 on the other
hand the percentages were markedly higher than during the period B and the year
1900. It may be also observed that the percentages for the period B generally
approximate more closely to those for the year 1900. Briefly, during the time the
suspected milk was operative there was a larger proportion of attacks amongst adults
than is usual with the ordinary run of scarlet fever cases, a fact in all probability to be
accounted for by the manner in which the infection was distributed.
The deaths from scarlet fever during the two periods A and B were 8 and 2
respectively. Of the former seven and of the latter one were amongst persons taking
X's milk. The case mortality during the first period was 4.7 per cent. of the attacks,
during the second period 3.8 per cent. of the attacks terminated fatally. From April
22nd to May 31st 4.5 per cent. of those attacked during this period died. The case
mortality amongst scarlet fever cases during 1899 was 4.1 per cent., in 1898 it was
4.7 per cent. in 1897 4.9, and in 1896 it was 5.4 per cent. Judging from the fatality
of the outbreak, so far as has been ascertained, there is no reason for believing that
the type of the disease was severer than usual. From information, however, received
from the medical superintendents of the hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board,
in which most of the cases were treated, it would appear that the cases during the
outbreak were of a somewhat severer type than the general run of cases during the
past few years.
The steps taken with a view to removing the cause of the outbreak, that is to stop
the supply of the infected milk at its source, have already been mentioned ; it remains
to refer to the measures taken to deal with the cases, and prevent the spread of
infection locally. In the great majority the cases were removed to the fever hospitals
of the Metropolitan Asylums Board, in a few instances the cases were sent to the