View report page

90
bath, and had her clothing and instruments sterilized at the
steam disinfecting machine at the Disinfecting Station adjoining.
The cases are at once reported to the London County
Council, who are the Local Supervising Authority under the
Midwives Act, 1902, the duty of disinfection devolving upon
the Local Sanitary Authority. Eleven nurses and midwives
who had been in attendance on puerperal fever cases during the
year attended at the Reception Shelter for purposes of
disinfection.
Erysipelas.
During 1907, in the Borough of Battersea, Erysipelas was
slightly more prevalent than during 1906. One hundred and
seventy-three cases were notified, and 5 deaths were recorded,
as compared with 166 cases and 10 deaths in 1906. The casemortality
was 2.89 per cent., as compared with 6.02 per cent.
in the previous year. The case-rate was .95, and the deathrate
.02, or .06 and .05 below the decennial average respectively.
It will be noted that, although the disease was slightly
more prevalent in 1907, the number of deaths recorded from
erysipelas was exactly half that in 1906.
Thirty-nine cases were removed to hospital, the majority
going to Union Infirmaries, and the remainder to General
Hospitals.
In London, during 1907, 4,497 cases of erysipelas were
notified, and 189 deaths were registered, giving a casemortality
of 4.2 per cent.
The advantages from the notification of erysipelas are few,
and it might be with advantage discontinued, and some other
dangerous infectious disease substituted.
Epidemic Cerebro-Spinal Fever.
Owing to the serious outbreaks of Epidemic Cerebrospinal
Meningitis which began in May, 1906, and continued