View report page

63
There were, therefore, 34 return outbreaks of scarlet fever, which means that
34 houses were affected.
In 30 of these the return-case or cases were in the same family as the
infecting (?) case, and in 4 in a different family in the same house.
The cases are classified below according to the number of days that elapsed
between the return of the infecting (?) case and the onset of illness of the
return-case:—
1 day 1
2 day 1
3 ,; 3
4 „ 4
5 „ 3
6 „ 2
7 days 3
8 „ 3
9 „ 2
10 „ 3
11 1
12 „ 1
15 days 2
17 1
19 „ 1
21 „ 1
22 „ 1
27 „ 1
Twelve of the infecting (?) cases had rhinitis subsequently to their return
from hospital (of which 1 also had otorrhœa and 2 also had desquamation), and
3 others had otorrhœa subsequently to their return. (All the infecting (?)
cases were not examined, and therefore there may have been others with
discharges or other obviously infectious conditions.)
In addition to the above cases there were 5 cases of scarlet fever occurring
rather more than 28 days after the return of a former case to the same house.
One of these w as in the same house as one of the 46 return cases considered
above, and the other 4 were in separate houses. Three of the latter occurred
30 days after the return of the intecting case, and one 33 days after.
One case of scarlet fever occurred 14 days after the return home from
hospital of a case of diphtheria in the same family. The latter was found to
have sore nostrils and a sore on the chin upon examination.
There was no evidence of any spread of scarlet fever through infected milk
supplies during the year.
Outbreaks of Scarlet Fever in Institutions.
The Orphan Working School, Maitland Park.
A considerable outbreak of scarlet fever occurred during 1914 at this school.
The school is a resident institution for orphan children who numbered 452
at midsummer 1914, and there is a resident staff as well as certain officers who
live out of the school. It is divided into three separate departments, viz.,
the Boys' Department (numbering 268 boys, aged from 7 to 13), the Girls'
Department (numbering 142 girls of similar ages), and the Junior Department
(numbering 42 children of both sexes aged from 3 to 7). The departments
are quite separate except that the boys and girls meet for meals, and all three
departments meet for chapel. During the epidemic the mixing of departments
was stopped.
In all there were 90 cases of scarlet fever in the school during the year,
made up of 79 from the Boys' Department, 7 from the Girls' Department,
1 from the Junior Department and 3 members of the staff. The cases were,
with a few exceptions, exceedingly mild, and there were no deaths.