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5
the spread of existing disease. As precise dates are all
important in an enquiry such as this, I now lay before you the
facts I had in my mind for arriving at an opposite conclusion.
On April 22nd a death occurred in Southwold Terrace
from diphtheria after a short illness, followed in two days by
another death, both of children, in the same family. The
source of infection could not be discovered, and no drainage
defects were detected, although a very careful examination was
made in this and all other houses in which the disease appeared.
On May the 3rd another death after a short illness happened
in Detmold Road, which was registered as from "cynanche
maligna," but which the medical attendant informed me was
almost certainly diphtheria. Cases of diphtheria also occurred
in Inver Road, Aveley Road, and Stone's Buildings, before the
7th of May, which was the date of opening the ground in Inver
Road for cleansing, repairing, and reconstructing a house
drain. The head master of the Detmold Road School sent a
list here 011 the 9th stating that several children had been away
before that day owing to an attack of diphtheria, so that these
cases could not have occurred from opening the ground, as the
children were ill before this was done. It is also necessary to
bear in mind that the disease was prevalent previously to the
7th in other parts of the district, at some distance from the
Detmold Road Schools. Although there was no evidence to
show that the disease up to that time had been spread through
attendance at the schools. I requested the master to keep all
children living in infected houses from attending the schools.
He said that he had done this, not only as regards diphtheria,
but all other infectious diseases; but he thought that the
frequency with which the neighbours visited the sick, and even
kissed them, had had something to do with the spread of the
disease.
At the first meeting of the Board in June, I made the
following report which bore the date of June 2nd: "During
the month of May, 34 cases of diphtheria (10 in four