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68
It will be seen that there was a close aggregation of
cases in Thorncliffe, Kingswood and Chale Roads All
the houses in these roads (68 in number) have been
within the last few weeks re-inspected. In 6 of the 68
houses Diphtheria has occurred, 4 cases being fatal.
The houses in question are occupied by 260 adults and
171 children, and the duration of occupation by the
present 68 tenants is as follows:—over 4 years 1, over
3 years 12, over 2 years 34, over 1 year 11, under 1
year 10. No Diphtheria occurred in these houses from
January 1885 to August 1887. At the latter date the
first of the present crop of cases in this locality occurred.
In 3 of the 6 infected houses, the drains were or had
been defective, in another case the school attended by a
child who died of Diphtheria had been shut up for drain
repairs. Thornbury Road has not yet been specially
re-inspected, but in the houses in that road where the
cases of Diphtheria occurred, no special defects have
been discovered.
The origin of the milk supply has been carefully examined
in each case: it is so varied, as to preclude any
possibility of its being a common source of infection.
The main sewers in these roads have been inspected
and found to be in a good sanitary condition, well flushed
and efficiently ventilated.
The fact that an old slop-shoot existed behind the
present site of Chale Road deserves note, but it is impossible
to explain the immunity from Diphtheria for
the 4 or 5 years since these houses were built until
August 1887, on the supposition that this was the cause.
It should be remembered that Diphtheria has been
prevalent in some excess throughout London during the