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DIPHTHERIA.
27
Of the 19 cases reported in December—
5 were non-attenders and 14 attendees.
Among the attenders were four secondary cases. 0.' the 10 primary—
4 went to Beethoven Street School.
4 ,, Kilburn Lane ,,
1 each to
Harrow Road (Moberley) School.
Wilberforce School.
The four secondary eases were distributed—
3 to Kilburn Lane School.
1 „ Beethoven Street „
Among the five non-attenders were three secondary cases (primary cases attending Beethoven
Street, Kilburn Lane, and Wilberforce Schools). OP the other two cases, one was in a family
with no school children, and the other had children attending Kilburn Lane School.

5 cases in households not sending children to school.
Diphtheria in St. John's Sub-District.—There was a slight excess of the disease in this SubDistrict
during the year, the 40 cases reported leing four in excess of the decennial average. Very
nearly half the cases were connected Avith one school—St. James'—but several of them were
secondary cases.
On April 27th two eases (W. C. and S. P.) were reported from Lancaster Mews, both children
being scholars of this school; on April 29th a third case (A. P.) was reported from the Mews; and
on the :10th a fourth (II. S.) from Westbourne Crescent. Inquiry made at the last house elicited
the fact that there was a child (A. T.) residing in Craven Terrace who had been away from school
for some time for a throat ailment, and had associated with II. S. The medical attendant of
A. T. was seen, and at the suggestion of the Medical Officer of Health a swab was taken
from the patient's throat. The result was that the case of A. T. was proved to be diphtheria,
and the bacillus was also found in the throats of four other children of the family, two of whom
had been in regular attendance at the school. The child A. T. had been to school whilst her throat
was bad, and there is little room for doubt that the infection was derived from that case, which
persisted in the school up to the summer holidays. In addition to the 14 children who were
reported ill with the disease, one other case, not seen by a medical man at the time, occurred, which
was diagnosed by the occurrence of paralysis. Although cases continued to occur at intervals from
the middle of April up to the middle of June, they were not sufficiently numerous to warrant
the school being closed.
Removals to Hospital.—Of the 343 cases reported in the Borough, 270 were treated in hospital,
equal to 78'7 per cent. From St. Mary's Sub-District 155 cases were removed, equal to 70 per cent,
of the notified cases; from St. John's, 26 cases (or 65 per cent.), and from North-West 1'addington
89 (or 83.1 per cent.). From the two first Sub-Districts, representing Old Paddington, the removals
to hospital during the past year (181 cases) represented 76.6 per cent, of the notifications, the
proportions for the three preceding years 1900, 1899, and 1898 having been 71.4, 827, and 64.3
per cent, respectively. Tliere was at the beginning of the fourth quarter some difficulty in securing
accommodation for cases as reported.