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45
NOTIFIABLE DISEASES, Etc.
Diphtheria.
There were 646 cases of diphtheria notified during
the year.
Of these, there were 13 cases under the age of 1
year, 234 between the ages of 1 and 5 years, 340
between the ages of 5 and 15 years, 41 between the
ages of 15 and 25 years, 16 between the ages of 25
and 45 years, and 2 between the ages of 45 and
65 years.
Of the 646 cases, all were removed to an isolation
hospital except 4. These cases were treated at home,
proper facilities being available for isolation and
treatment.
Twenty-one deaths from this disease occurred
during the year, equivalent to a case mortality of 3.2
per cent, or a general death rate of 0.17 per 1,000 of
the population.

These figures are illustrated by the death rate
graph following page 2.
Of the 21 deaths, 9 were of children under 5. The
second, third, fourth, and fifth years of life comprise
the epoch when the young child is most susceptible
to diphtheria, and a heavy toll of life is taken. Of the