View report page

31
October.
I reported on August 9th, that "as the Schools were closed
for the summer holidays, I did not anticipate there would be
many fresh cases until they re-opened. As a matter of fact no
case occurred at all until August 30th —that is—three days after
the schools re-opened, from which date until September 28th,
seven fresh cases have been admitted to Hospital, three of the
patients were from one house in Clarence Street, so that altogether
there were only five freshly-infected houses. In none of the cases
is there very definite evidence as to where infection was
contracted.
November.
"Five of the fresh admissions of Scarlet Fever are children
who have attended North Road Schools. How far these
children contracted infection at School there is no very definite
evidence to show.
"I have visited the School principally implicated i.e. North
Road Infants, to which four of the patients went, and I am
satisfied that one of them at least contracted infection outside
by coming into contact with an unrecognised case, which has
since been notified." I have made investigations both at the
School and the patients houses with a view to detecting
unrecognised cases, which I feel sure are responsible, but so
far without any satisfactory result.
December.
"The nine cases of Scarlet Fever admitted since I last
reported, have occurred chiefly amongst scholars attending
North Road and St. John's Schools. One child at St. John's
School was found by the mistress freely peeling and he had been
in continuous attendance, with the exception of one day.
Another child attending the same School was kept at home
for a week, because of sore throat, again went back to school;
his sister contracted Scarlet Fever, and he was found to be
desquamating. One other case was traced to this source.
Dr. Young, the County Medical Officer, who had occasion
to visit the district on another matter, considered with me
all the cases recently notified, and he was quite in agreement
that the evidence pointed to unrecognised cases being the
means of spread.
Diphtheria and Membranous Croup.
Twenty-six cases of Diphtheria and Membranous Croup were
notified, as compared with 27 for 1905. Of these, 17 were males
and 9 females.