View report page

40
School attendance is either alleged by the parents or surmised
by myself, on good grounds, to be the cause of at least 2 attacks
during the year.
At least 3 appear to have caught the infection from previous cases
in the same household. In 8 cases it was very clear that a preceding
tonsilitis predisposed to an attack of Diphtheria. In 12 cases there
was a history of previous throat trouble, frequently recurring, and in
3 cases parents had previously had sore throats.
Many applications have been made at the office for tubes of
antitoxin, which I store for the convenience of local practitioners.
In this disease the spread of the infection (and by consequence
the mortality) are largely due to the unfortunate circumstance that
the early diagnosis of the disease from clinical symptoms is frequently
difficult or impossible, and bacteriology alone can solve the difficulty
in many cases. The diagnosis outfits provided by the Council
to the medical practitioners in Stoke Newington continue to be much
appreciated. Every practitioner has been kept supplied during the
year with such an outfit, and has thus had at his disposal the means
of procuring a bacteriological diagnosis of Diphtheria, Enteric Fever,
and Consumption.