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11
centre of propagation; I visited this school daily for some weeks,
examining children who had any suspicion of ill-health. On more
than one occasion I found children desquamating freely. Such a
state of things can only be brought about either by neglect or
ignorance on the part of the parents, or the attack may have been so
slight as to have escaped notice.
From the results obtained by these daily inspections, I am
convinced that the surest way to arrest an epidemic is to make the
school in the neighbourhood the centre for daily inspection of
the children; this step I shall always take in the future should
occasion arise.
DIPHTHERIA.
Twenty-three cases were notified, and eight deaths occurred
during the year.
In most of the houses the sanitary arrangements were
defective; these were rectified.
I was able to satisfactorily trace three cases to Kent Piatt,
a village near Burrow Green.
Many of the cases notified as Diphtheria, turned out to be
Follicular Tonsillitis, but as I have previously pointed out the
diagnosis can only be settled in the early stages by a
bacteriological examination.
Probably before long each District will have its own
laboratory, where such investigations can be carried out.
WHOOPING COUGH.
Twenty-one deaths were registered from this complaint, all of
children under 5 years of age. If we come to examine the deaths
more particularly, we find that three-fourths of the deaths occur
in children under two years of age, the mortality of the female sex
being in excess of that of the male. The mortality is also increased
in the cold weather. This is attributable to the exposure and to the
absence of proper precautions on the part of the parents, who are
inclined to look upon Whooping Cough as an ailment of little
moment and requiring but little treatment.