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43
On the 20th October, with the permission of the parents, swabs
were taken from the throats of two of the children. The ones
selected were the child who was believed to have been the first
attacked, and the child who had been taken ill the 'most recently.
The examination proved negative in the case of the former, but
Klebs LSffler bacilli were found in the throat of the second child. All
children who had been the subjects of a throat attack were then excluded
from the school pending the result of a bacteriological examination of
their throats. This proved negative in all but two cases. In one of
these the specific bacilli were found, and in the other Hoffmann's
bacillus was present. The presence of this last named bacillus was
thought to point to the possibility of the child having been the subject
of an attack of true diphtheria. As already mentioned, the return of
this child to school occurred a few days before the second outbreak, and
may have been a factor in determining it. In the throat of another
child streptococci and staphylococci were found, and it was deemed
advisable to exclude her for a few days.
From the subjoined table it will be seen that the cases of Diphtheria
in Westminster were fairly spread over the twelve months, and
Table XIY shows that the southern part of the city suffered chiefly:—