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of the country. The total number of samples taken since the Act came
into operation on 1st July, 1908, is 2,531, and of 1,930 of these in
which the examination has been completed, 187, or 9'6 per cent., proved
to be tuberculous. The Council's Veterinary Inspector has power to
visit farms outside the county and examine the cows; the total number
so examined is 16,625, of which number 363, or 2.2 per cent., were
found to have tuberculous udders. In every case in which a tuberculosis
udder had been diagnosed the dairy farmer, or his representative,
had undertaken to sell no more milk from the affected animal.
Two instances of milk carriers suffering from phthisis came to my
notice. So soon as their employers became aware of the fact they
discontinued employing them.
Infectious Disease.—Six cases of scarlet fever, 2 of diphtheria, and
2 of erysipelas occurred on premises in which milkshops were situated,
and two persons from an infected house were employed elsewhere in the
milk trade. Satisfactory arrangements were made in each instance,
and no infection of the milk resulted.
An outbreak of scarlet fever, however, did occur, traceable to
infected milk, and Westminster was affected to some extent; fortunately
we were able to stop the supply of this milk to the City within a
few hours of the notification of the first cases. Probably infected milk
had formed part of the consignment to local dealers on two days. The
following is an account of the matter presented to the Council by the
Public Health Committee:—
"Scarlet Fever and Milk.—On the evening of the 17th June, the
Medical Officer of Health suspected the milk supplied by a dealer in
Westminster as being the probable source of infection of two families.
He at once took steps to ascertain if there was any illness in the
families of the dealer or his employees, and, finding none, advised him
to change his supply of milk, and to throw away that which he had left
over unsold, which was done. During the course of the evening a
dozen notifications were received, and inquiry elicited the fact that in
each instance milk had been obtained from the same source.
"It was ascertained that the milk was obtained from a large
wholesale firm having twelve collecting depots, chiefly in Lhe West of
England, each depot receiving milk from a large number of farms. The
Medical Officer, having ascertained that the customers of other retailers
in Westminster, who were getting their milk from the same company,
were not suffering, was lead to suspect one of the depots as being the
likely source. Meanwhile he had communicated with the manager of
the wholesale company, the Medical Officer of Health for the County of