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74
A careful examination of the weekly summary
of infectious diseases occurring in those parts of
the metropolitan area supplied by the New River
Company at the period under review, compared
with those furnished by other companies, brings
us no nearer to the source of the outbreak we are
considering.
There is, however, some faint evidence that
the case of Typhoid notified on the 5th December
had been suffering from diarrhoea and
indefinite symptoms probably a week before
that date, and may have contaminated the water
in the cistern immediately beneath a W.C. on
the fourth floor which became choked and
overflowed, and having no "safe" or other
contrivance to prevent leakage; but it is difficult
to connect it with the one that succeeded
fifty days later, or much after the ordinary
period of incubation.
An attempt was made to ascertain if any
connection existed between the milk supply
(from 45 to 80 quarts per diem) and the
outbreak.