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55
(Classroom B) from July 15th to the end of the summer holidays—12
cases of Scarlet Fever or Suspected Scarlet Fever,
i.e. 26 per cent. of an average attendance of 45; (2) a
slight outbreak of Scarlet Fever occurred in December,
1908, in connection with the Junior, Mixed and Infants' Departments
of the Gipsy Road School—7 cases in all, 6 in the
former and 1 in the latter. The cases appear to have arisen
from a child attending class-room E of the Junior Mixed
Department from December 1st to December 5th, whilst
suffering from an unrecognised attack of scarlet fever.
Three cases arose therefrom in class-room E and 3 in connection
with other class-rooms of the Junior Mixed Department,
whilst 1 case arose in connection with the Infants'
Department. The usual disinfection of the two Departments
(16 rooms in all and 2 corridors) was carried out.
An interesting case arose in connection with one of the
L.C.C. artisans' buildings, the patient being certified by the
medical attendant as "unfit for removal to Hospital" (i.e.,
from a point of view of the patient's health). Application
could not, therefore, be made to a Magistrate for compulsory
removal under section 66 of the Public Health Act, 1891, in
view of such certificate, whilst-there was a difficulty as to
the exact interpretation to be put upon the words of the
section, viz., "without proper lodging or accommodation"—
it having been held by the Courts that the words quoted
have reference only to the patient and not to other persons
in the house. On broad ground it may be stated that a
patient suffering from a dangerous infectious disease is not
properly isolated in a tenement of an L.C.C. Artisans' Buildings,
such patient being a danger to persons living in the
other immediate tenements in the same Block, if not to other
persons in other tenements also.
Instant removal to Hospital of all infectious patients becomes
desirable from such tenements, and the L.C.C.
Housing Department, thoroughly alive to such a necessity,