London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Paddington 1901
Report on the vital statistics and sanitary work for the year 1901
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30
SCARLET FEVER.
reasonable to attribute all tlie cases in the above statement (based on intervals between dates of
attacks) up to and including the third week as due to personal infection from the primary cases.
Of the 18 cases which occurred at intervals of two months and upwards,
6 were apparently return cases;
4 of the secondary cases occurred in different families and were most probably due to quite
2 ,, ,, ,, the same family distinct sources of infection.
Houses with three eases during the year.
Of the 13 instances tabulated above, three have to be excluded on account of erroneous diagnosis, viz., one each in Wards II., III., and V. The intervals of the remaining 10 instances were as below:—
| Intervals between | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st and 2nd Cases. | 2nd and 3rd Cases. | |
| Ward II. | 1 day. | |
| 0 | ||
| 1 day. | ||
| 0 | ||
| (c) 2 ,, | 1 month. | |
| 1 „ | ||
| 0 | ||
| 6 days. | ||
Ward II., (a) and (b).—The three cases were reported on the same day.
„(c) The third case occurred five days after the two previous cases arrived
home from hospital.
Ward IV. The second patient sickened on the day the first was removed to
hospital, and the third, four days after the removal of the second.
Ward Y. (a) The second case appears to be quite independent of the first ; the third
occurred 10 days after the second came home from hospital.
„ (b) The second and third cases were reported together, were children of a
different family, and the cases were probably quite independent of
the first.
„ (c) The origin of the second case was not cleared up; the third case
occurred 11 days after the first came back from hospital.
„(d) The cause of the repeated cases was not cleared up.
Ward VI. The two first cases were reported on the same day, and one of the
patients was treated at home.
Ward VII. All the patients were treated at home.
House with four cases during the year—one instance in Ward II.
The second case occurred three days after the first was removed ;
Third and fourth 14 days after the removal of the second.
Houses with more than four eases during the year—five instances.
(a) Five cases:—Ward IV. (an institution).
The two first cases were reported together;
The third case occurred three days after the removal of the two cases;
The fourth case, 24 days after the removal of the third ; and
The fifth, on the day the fourth was removed.
(The drainage at this institution was subsequently examined and found very defective. It has.
since been completely reconstructed).