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77
Surrey Lane Tennyson Street
Mantua Street Gideon Road
Honeywell Road Christ Church
Ethelburga Street
Class rooms in the above schools were closed for periods
varying from one to three weeks, and disinfected thoroughly.
This action was in every case followed by satisfactory results.
Of the 922 cases in the Borough of Battersea, 888, or 96.3
per cent., were removed to the Metropolitan Asylums Board's
Hospitals. In 1906 96.6 per cent., in 1905 93.8 per cent., and
in 1904 86.6 per cent., were removed to hospital. In the SubDistricts
the percentage of cases removed were as follows :—
East Battersea, 98.8 ; North-West Battersea, 98.9 ; and SouthWest
Battersea, 86.7.
This must be considered a highly satisfactory record in the
percentage of cases of Scarlet Fever removed to hospital, more
especially as regards East and North-West Battersea, in both
of which districts, owing to the lack of proper means of isolation
and nursing, it is most essential that cases of dangerous
infectious diseases should be promptly removed to hospital.
Forty-seven cases of Scarlet Fever occurred during 1907,
in connection with which there was more or less evidence that
the return of patients discharged from hospital to the houses
from which these 47 cases were notified, had been the source
of infection. It by no means follows that all these cases were
genuine "return" cases; there can be little doubt that some at
least of them were, as, after excluding all other possible
sources, the conclusion was irresistible that the discharged
patient must have been the source of infection.
The difficulty of checking the spread of Scarlet Fever
during 1907 was largely due to the great number of mild,
unrecognised cases, which infected other members of the same
family, or playmates. One or two typical cases, which will
serve to exemplify this difficulty, may be cited.