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84
Summary.
The considerations associated with the outbreak at the Infirmary
point conclusively to the need for greater care in dealing
with children sent in as patients from other Institutions where
children are aggregated, and from outside. The absence of precautions
under such circumstances only invites disaster, more
especially when infectious disease is prevalent. It can hardly be
expected that, under such circumstances, these Institutions, fed
as they are from a casual and destitute population, who form, moreover,
a suitable soil for the reception of disease germs, such as the
Diphtheria germ, can escape. The absence of even elementary precautions
for dealing with an emergency, which at any time may
arise, is greatly to be deplored, and exhibits an utter lack of appreciation
of the danger of such neglect on the part of those responsible.
There can be no doubt, in my opinion, that the Institutions
which feed the Infirmary with patients are to some extent, at least,
responsible for the late outbreak. To what extent the responsibility,
when conditions at the Infirmary are remembered, can be
divided between them, it is difficult to say. It is clear that the
disease had been in the Infirmary for some time (probably in a
latent form), and it is equally clear that patients had from time to
time been sent in from the various Institutions in the Guardians'
care, and some of whom may have been responsible for this
outbreak.
It was manifestly impossible, therefore, to come to any other
conclusion at that time than that the disease had been in the Infirmary
for some time prior to Nurse G— being attacked at
the end of December, 1907. Attention was therefore concentrated
on stamping out the disease, and precautions taken to ensure that
no fresh cases were admitted to the Infirmary from outside, or
from the Workhouse or other Institutions under the care of the
Guardians.
With the object of thoroughly exterminating the disease, the
entire child population in the Infirmary was examined, and a
regular systematic swabbing was carried out. At the same time,