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5
wich, and the general conditions, outside school, to which children would be exposed are probably
much the same as regards the children at either school.
There is no evidence pointing to milk or general sanitary circumstances having to do with
unusual prevalence of diphtheria in Woolwich at this time.
While, at the time of year under consideration, an increase in the amount of diphtheria
is not unusual, there seems little doubt that apart from this, attendance at Powis-street
School had influence in causing spread of the disease. In this connection, reference may be made
to a case which occurred in October in the person of a child (No. 7 in list given in above table)
who did not live within the area of the school, but in the outlying and detached area near the
Common. This boy, however, attended Powis-street School, and got the complaint at a time when
no cases were occurring in the area of Woolwich in which he lived.
There appears, therefore, to be considerable justification for the suspicion that this school
had been the means of spreading diphtheria in the district, and that the cases in the Fire Brigade
station were caused in this way.
C. W. F. Young,
Assistant Medical Officer.
March, 1899.