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Sub-district of Putney and Roehampton.
61
quite prepared to admit that offensive smells may arise occasionally
from the piggeries in connection with it. I don't think piggeries
can exist at all without smells arising from them when being
cleaned out. Several years ago we made an application to the
magistrate to have these piggeries removed. The magistrate at
that time would not make the order for their absolute removal, but
ordered them to be removed further away from the nearest inhabitated
houses, so as to be beyond the prescribed distance. From
that time we have had no complaints of nuisance arising from them
until the present complaint by Mr. Hickman in connection with
this epidemic.
The Local Committee has given instructions for special investigations
to be made as to the existence of any nuisance.
So far no nuisance of a definite nature has been discovered
arising from the farm yard, but observations will be still continued
from time to time. I may add that the mild type of the epidemic
disease, which was very apparent at first, has been maintained
throughout. There has been no fatal issue in any of the cases
affected.
(Signed) WILLIAM Y. ORR,
Medical Officer of Health for Putney and Roehampton.
I have not much now to add to what I have said.
So far as I could make out the disease was imported to
the Roehampton National Schools from Southfields.
After the disease got a footing the conditions were present
for the rapid extension of it. In some of the cases
reported to me afterwards no diphtheric bacilli were
found in the throat. Here we have a great difficulty,
not only in the diagnosis of the disease, but also in its
prevention. During the same epidemic, among children
attending the same school and living in the same village,
a number of cases of sore throat suddenly broke out.
The clinical symptoms in the various cases are indistinguishable,
or so alike that they cannot be distinguished.
In some we find the characteristic diphtheric bacilli, but
in others no such bacilli can be found. In the former
we have to deal from a bacteriological point of view