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112
there is nothing they can point to in the condition of the
patient to indicate that there is infectious disease present,
consequently, patients often return to school in an infectious
state. In order to obviate this evil to some extent, and having
failed to secure provision for bacteriological examinations, I
recommended that the School Board should be asked to exclude
all cases notified as having Diphtheria for a period of six weeks,
just as they are excluded in Measles for four weeks. The
Board refused however on the advice of their Medical Officer
to comply with this suggestion, on the ground that the medical
attendant should decide when a child can return to school.
But I have reason to believe that medical men would be the
first to welcome such a rule.
Enteric Fever.
28. There were 29 cases of Enteric Fever, compared with
22, 29, 26, and 214 in the four preceding years. This shows
that no increased prevalence of this disease has been left
behind by the epidemic of 1895, as usually occurs when an
epidemic has been a result of insanitary conditions. The
cases were scattered all over the parish.
In 14 cases there were defective drains or other serious insanitary
conditions. Four cases occurred in one house, where
a very faulty drain ran under the house. In one case the
patient was in the habit of eating oysters freely. In another
case the disease was evidently contracted at the seaside.
There were 4 deaths.
Puerperal Fever.
29. There were 3 cases of Puerperal Fever notified last
year compared with 7 in 1895, One died. Besides this death,
there were 5 deaths from labour and its sequelae. I am of