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109
infection, deserve great credit, and if similar vigilance were
practised by all school teachers, I believe there would be a
considerable reduction in the number of cases of Scarlet Fever.
There is no doubt that infection is now mainly kept up by
mild cases unsuspected or deliberately concealed.
The action of the Vestry in prosecuting the above cases
seems so far to have had the desired result, for I have heard
of no more cases of concealment.
There was another prosecution for exposing a child in a
perambulator in the street, while still suffering from Scarlet
Fever; a fine of 10/- was inflicted.
22. Return Cases.—In four cases of Scarlet Fever there
was reason to think that the source of infection was a child in
the same family who had returned from the Fever Hospital.
In one of these I found that a sister had returned from the
Hospital six days before, and on examination I discovered
that she had a copious discharge from the ear. She was in
Hospital six weeks.
In another case a brother had returned 10 days before ; he
had enlarged tonsils and a chronic mucous discharge from the
nose.
Diphtheria and Membranous Croup.
23. There were 198 cases of Diphtheria and Croup, compared
with 37, 118, 179, 118, and 148 in the five preceding
years. Thus the past year shewed a higher prevalence of
Diphtheria than any recent year. There were 60 deaths : this
is five fewer than in 1893, the most fatal year for Diphtheria
since 1885.