View report page

24
tendents of the South Eastern and Eastern Fever Hospitals. The
following is the report upon the subject presented to the Sanitary
Committee, 27th April:—
"So far as the South Eastern Fever Hospital is concerned, a reply
was received from the Clerk to the Asylums Board stating that the
matter shall receive attention, and later on the Clerk to the Asylums
Board wrote—'Your letter of the 30th ultimo, addressed to the
Medical Superintendent of the Hospital upon the matter, was read to
the Committee of Management at their meeting on the 20th inst.
At the same time the Committee had under consideration the observations
of the Medical Superintendent upon the subject-matter of
your letter, and a copy of these they directed me to forward to
you in reply to it.'
"[Copy.] "South Eastern Hospital.
"Observations of Medical Superintendent re case of--.
"I beg to report as follows concerning the case referred to in Dr.
Alexander's letter:
"--was admitted here on the 23rd December, 1898,
with diphtheria. While in the hospital he developed chicken-pox
and scarlet fever, on February 4th, 1899, and February 10th respectively.
The source of infection in the first case could not be traced ;
in the second case it was from a boy in an adjoining bed. I regret
to say that this case is not an isolated instance, and that many
patients develop a second disease after admission to hospital. I
have regularly reported to you the number of such cases in each
annual report I have submitted to you.
"20th April, 1899. "(Signed) F. M. TURNER.
"The Medical Superintendent of the Eastern Fever Hospital in
his reply states: 'Diphtheria has long been known as a complication
of the convalescent stage ol Scarlet Fever. I think myself, and I
think this is the commonly accepted view, that the infection of