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DIPHTHERIA, 1805.
15
The writer brought early the state of things before the
Vestry of St. Marylebone, and suggested that something
should be done to provide, directly or indirectly, for cases
urgently requiring isolation. The question was discussed
in all its bearings; stress was laid on the constant
inadequacy of the Asylums Board resources. The expense
of assisting the Board seemed to be annual—not temporary,
For two successive years the Vestry had established
and maintained temporary hospitals, and had thus greatly
assisted the Asylums Board by housing and treating a
number of sick which would otherwise have been among
other applicants for admission into the Asylums Board
Hospitals. Without a doubt the advantages gained to the
community outweighed the expense of the temporary
hospitals; nevertheless, as no other local authority followed
the example of St. Marylebone, and it looked as if the same
difficulty was going to recur yearly, it is no wonder that the
proposal to maintain another hospital met with considerable
opposition and was ultimately rejected by a substantial
majority.
DIPHTHERIA.
226 cases of diphtheria were notified during the year,
and this is about the average annual number. The writer
suggested to the Vestry that facilities should be given to the
medical men of the district for the bacteriological examination
of the throats of patients presumed to be suffering from
diphtheria, and the Vestry adopted the suggestion. The
City of Bristol in this country and the State of New York
in America have also a system of methodical examination,
and the results are encouraging. As carried out in St.
Marylebone the procedure is as follows : Each medical man
is supplied with a small box containing two tubes one of
which is fitted with a cork carrying a wire, around the end of
which is wrapped a little sterile wool. On visiting a case
suspected to be diphtheritic, he examines the throat, applies
the wool on the end of the wire to the affected part, and
replaces it in the tube, or should there be decided membrane,
a little of the membrane is detached and put in the
empty tube. The tubes thus infected are transmitted to the