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During the year 109 cases of scarlet fever were notified in Chelsea, as
against 142 in 1915. There were no deaths registered as due to scarlet
fever, as compared with 5 in 1915; 90 per cent, of the cases were removed
to hospital. There was no special incidence on any particular school in
the Borough, with the exception of the Oratory Free School where 5
cases occurred amongst school children late in November and early in
December. It was not found necessary to close any of the class-rooms.
The percentage of cases of school age (3 to 13 years) was 75, as against
64 in 1915.
In 1916, 109 cases of diphtheria were notified in Chelsea, as compared
with 105 in 1915. The disease caused 15 deaths, the case mortality
being 14 per cent., as compared with only 6.4 per cent. in 1915, so that
the type of the disease was more severe than that recently prevailing.
The disease was most prevalent in the early part of the year, 46 of the
109 cases being notified in February, March and April. All but one of
the notified cases were removed to hospital, as against 89 per cent. in
1915. There was no special incidence on any particular school with the
exception of Tadema Road School, where, late in January, 3 children
attending school were attacked within a few days of each other. The
throats of children in the infants' department, first standard, were
swabbed, but all the swabs gave negative results as regards the presence
of diphtheria bacillus. For the year the percentage of cases of school age
(3 to 13 years) was 71, as against 61 in 1915.
During the year medical practitioners sent 108 throat swabbinga to
the Lister Institute for bacterioscopic diagnosis, as compared with 142 in
1915. Of the 108 specimens, 77 or 71 per cent. were sent by the Victoria
Hospital in respect of Chelsea children. Of the total 108 specimens 21 or
20 per cent. afforded positive evidence of the diphtheria bacillus, and 87
or 80 per cent. were negative. In 1915 the positives were 21 per cent.,
and the negatives 79 per cent.
The number of cases of enteric fever notified was 8, as against 19 in
1915. Of the total 8 cases, in 3 the diagnosis was not confirmed at the
hospitals to which the patients were removed. In 3 cases the patients
were infected prior to their arrival in Chelsea—1 at Harrogate, 1 at
Ilfracombe, and 1 in Haute Savoie, France. There were, therefore, only
2 cases of enteric fever out of the 8 notified in which it seems probable
that the infection was contracted within the Borough. This is the
smallest number as yet recorded in Chelsea. Only 1 of the cases ended
fatally and that was a case of enteritis, not enteric fever, the diagnosis
being altered at the M.A.B. Hospital to which the patient was removed.
One specimen of blood from a suspected case was sent to the Lister
Institute. The result was negative.
During the year information was received from the Military Authorities
that a chronic carrier of enteric fever had been discharged from the
Army to a house in College-place. The man is a packer by trade.
The deaths in Chelsea in 1916 from diarrhœa and enteritis were 26
in number, as compared with 18 in 1915. Fifteen of the deaths were of
infants under 1 year, and 5 were between 1 and 5 years of age. Only 3
deaths occurred in the summer quarter of the year, showing the exceedingly
slight prevalence of summer diarrhoea. Twenty cases of infantile
diarrhoea were visited by the Health Visitor in 1916, as compared with 7
in 1915. The 20 cases involved the paying of 121 visits to homes affected.
Influenza caused 24 deaths in 1916, as against 19 in 1915.