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31
make arrangements with the British Institute of Preventive Medicine
for a bacteriological examination in doubtful cases.
As an illustration of the difficulties we sometimes experience
I may mention the case of a hairdresser in the Bethnal Green Road,
who was notified to me as suffering from Diphtheria. On visiting
the premises I found the man in a very infectious condition, at work
in his shop. I warned him of the consequences of his behaviour,
but ineffectually, since the inspector found him two days afterwards
still at his business, and a source of infection, for two cases were
traced to this cause.
When the man was free from infection he was summoned to
Worship Street, where he was fined twenty shillings and three
shillings costs—a somewhat inadequate penalty for such reckless
behaviour.
PUERPERAL FEVER.
The number of cases notified to me under this head was eight;
the number of deaths registered was four.
In two instances the first intimation'I received of the occurrence
of the disease was the entry of the death in the weekly return of
the District Registrar.
In the first of these two cases the death was certified to be caused
by " Peritonitis after labour, 12 days." I felt sure that this must
be a case of Puerperal Fever, as the medical practitioner who signed
the certificate had, a few weeks previously, notified to me a similar
case on the day the patient died; accordingly I wrote to this
gentleman to ask why he had failed to report the case; he answered
apologising for his neglect, which he sought to excuse on the ground
that the illness and death of his patient so upset him that he had
forgotten to send the certificate.
I reported the case to the Sanitary Committee, but they refused
to accept the apology and directed a prosecution.
The case was heard in due course before Mr. Cluer, at Worship
Street. The defendant was not present, but sent a representative,
who was prepared to admit the offence and pay such penalty as
might be inflicted.