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28
SCARLET FEVER.
448 St. Pancras (civil) patients were notified during 1916 as suffering
from scarlet fever. Of the 448 cases notified, 44 were afterwards found not
to be suffering from scarlet fever, 43 by Medical Superintendents of the
Metropolitan Asylums Board hospitals, and one by other medical practitioners.
This gives the net number of cases of scarlet fever notified during the year
as 404, equal to an incidence rate of 1*85 per 1,000 population, and 2-05 per
1,000 civil population.
With the exception of 1911, when the figures were about the same, this is
a smaller number of cases than in any other year since 1889, when the disease
was made notifiable.
The number of deaths from scarlet fever certified during the year was 8,
equal to a death-rate of 0.03 per 1,000 population, or 0.04 per 1,000 civil
population, and a case mortality of 2.0 per cent., of cases notified.
Other statistical facts in regard to the disease will be found on pages 14-15.
Of the notified cases of scarlet fever, 429 (or 95.8 per cent.) were removed
to hospital, as follows:—
To Metropolitan Asylums Board Hospitals 426
To other hospitals 3
429
There were no outbreaks of scarlet fever of any importance in any of the
schools and institutions in the borough in 1916, and no evidence of any
spread of the disease through infected milk supplies.
Return Cases.—The definition of "return case" of scarlet fever adopted is
as follows:—A return case of scarlet fever is one beginning within 28 days
of the return from hospital to the same house of a previous case of scarlet
fever.
Upon this definition there were 26 return cases of scarlet fever during
1916, occurring in 20 houses. There were 6 instances in which there were
two return cases in the same house.
In 12 of these outbreaks the return case or cases were in the same family
as the infecting (?) case, in 7 in a different family in the same house, and in
1 both.
The cases are classified below according to the number of days that elapsed
between the return of the infecting (?) case and the onset of illness of the
return case:—
3 days 1 8 days 3 14 days 1
4 „ 1 9 „ 2 21 „ 1
5 „ 1 11 „ 3 24 „ 1
6 „ 2 12 „ 1
7 „ 1 13 „ 2
Six of the infecting (?) cases had rhinitis subsequently to their return
from hospital (of which one also had otorrhœa) and one boils. (All the
infecting (?) cases were not examined, and therefore there may have been
others with discharges or other infectious conditions).