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74
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
No further cases were notified from this school during the
rest of the year.
The other outbreak, at Roehampton National School, was in
some respects of a more serious character, as the homes of the
children at this school are scattered over a considerable area, and
there are also two Institutions, the Hambro Orphanage and the
Children's Home, in the village, the children from which attend
this school.
The outbreak was confined to the Infants' Department, and
the following report on the matter was laid before the Public
Health Committee.
"6th January, 1908.
"I have to report the occurrence of an outbreak of Diphtheria
in connection with the Girls' and Infants' Department
of the Public School at Roehampton. The first intimation I
received of the existence of Diphtheria in this village was on
the 7th December, when a case was notified from a house in
Wandsworth, the child being in attendance at the Infants'
Department at Roehampton. This case had definite clinical
symptoms and was removed to hospital on the same day that
the notification was received. The first symptoms of this
case occurred on the 6th December, but no cause of infection
could at that time be discovered. On the 9th, however, a
swab was taken from the throat of a child also in attendance
at the Infants' School, and on the 10th I received information
from the Lister Institute that a positive result had been
obtained. This case was also removed to hospital. On
enquiry it was found that the date of the first symptoms in
this child was the 3rd December, and that it had been in
attendance at school on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th, while in an
infective condition. It seems possible that this case was the
cause of the other cases, as all the children affected, as well
as the teacher of the class, were in close communication with
this child in school. The only source of infection that could
be ascertained in this case was that the child had been taken
on the Sunday previous (i.e., the 1st December) to Fulham
and Southfields, and may have come into contact with other
cases on that date.