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11
school, and I visited the school and examined several cases by
request of the teachers as on previous occasions (since the
School Boards letter I have, of course, abstained from making
such examinations).
29. Return Cases.—In five cases of Scarlet Fever it appeared
probable that the patient caught the infection from
another child in the house who had returned home from the
Fever Hospital or Convalescent Home.
The intervals that elapsed between the return of one child
and commencement of illness of the other varied from five to
ten days.
In one case, the convalescent child had, on return, a severe
cold, with running from the nose and roughness of the skin of
hands and legs. In another case, there were sores on the face
and nose, and in a third, a sore and discharge from the left
nostril.
The patients had all been away from home for a considerable
time, one as long as 12 weeks.
Diphtheria.
30. There were 131 cases of Diphtheria and Croup compared
with 37, 118, 179, 118, 148 and 198 in the six preceding
years. There were only 24 deaths, which is fewer than in any
year since 1891. (See Table VI.) 0 cases went to Hospital,
of whom 10 died, giving a death-rate per 100 cases of 12.
The death-rate at home was 27 per cent.
The death-rate at home in the past five years was 30, 32,
25, 33 and 27 respectively, and at Hospital 50, 35, 19, 26 and
10. I believe this remarkable decrease in the Hospital