View report page

Scarlet Fever.—There were about 7,000 more cases notified in
1904 than in 1905 in London. In the City of Westminster the
number was 370, as compared with 313 in 1904, 352 in 1903, and 475
in each of the two previous years.
Eight cases notified as scarlet fever were afterwards said not to be so,
but, as I have mentioned in previous reports, many mild cases escaped
recognition. Two outbreaks occurred in Westminster through the
nature of the disease not being identified until late in the course of the
complaint. In one instance a child of a tailor was found to be
recovering from an attack, and other children in the house contracted
the disease, and twenty-three other cases were directly or indirectly
traceable thereto; probably there were many others in which the
connection was not traced. The schools were in vacation at the time,
but the children had frequent opportunities of meeting and playing
together. In the other group the immediate cases were fewer in
number, about a dozen. Scarlet fever occurred in one instance in a
dairyman's house, which was separate from the shop. The sale of milk
was stopped until the child recovered. The table on the next page
shows how the cases were distributed, with the attack rate and
mortality.

Deaths occurred in six wards, as shown above.
The death-rate per 1,000 persons living was 0.12 in London, and 0.085
in Westminster.