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53
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
health of the children to remain at school, and I therefore advised two
members of the Committee who have power to act, to close the whole
school for one month so that the necessary sanitary work could be
carried out.
I am, Gentlemen,
Your Obedient Servant,
P. CALDWELL SMITH,
Medical Officer of Health.
The cases in Merton Road School were of a mild type, and there
was no reason to believe that there were any "carrier" cases in this
School, although careful inquiry was made.
In Swaffield Road School although 17 cases occurred among
pupils during the year, these were scattered over the whole year.
Of the total number of cases of Diphtheria 127 or 36 per cent,
occurred among children under 5 years of age, 205 or 50 per cent. at
ages 5 to 15, and 69 or 14 per cent. above 15 years of age.
Of the 401 cases notified, in 54 information was received from
the Hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board that the diagnosis
was incorrect, and only 347 are shown on the table.
Return cases of Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria.
17 cases of Scarlct Fever occurred after the return of cases from
Hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board compared with 50 in
1903 and 48 in 1902. There were no return cases of Diphtheria,
while in 1903 there were 11, and 111 1902 eight.
Five of the cases were from Clapham, one from Putney, five
from Streatham, none from Tooting, and six from Wandsworth.
Two of the cases of Scarlet Fever occurred in one house in
Clapham.
The following table shows the date of removal to Hospital of the
first case, the date of return from Hospital, the number of days the
first case was in Hospital, and the date of the first symptons in the
subsequent cases.
D