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1929 38
The number is too small to attach importance to the sex
distribution or the situation of the houses of the sufferers, but they
all point to a source of infection other than the baths. Unfortunately
we have not been able to trace the source of infection, but
as previously stated, we were handicapped in our search in one
direction by the fact that the schools were closed during the
holidays, and if the "carriers" were school girls it is quite
possible for the nose and throat to be free at the end of the
holidays.
Public Baths.
Although it is probable that the water in the Swimming
Baths had no connection with the occurrence of the foregoing
cases of Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis, it may be desirable to discuss
the matter more fully at the present time. In recent years there
has been an immense increase in the popularity of swimming, and
the condition of the swimming bath water has become a matter of
interest and importance to a large and increasing number of the
inhabitants of the Borough.
Until quite recently most of the work in connection with the
pollution and purification of water in swimming baths has been
done by American authorities and most of the literature dealing
with bacterial standards appears to be of American origin. It
appears that in America much greater effort is expended in examination
of the conditions prevalent in swimming bath water, though
it is not equally clear that these conditions themselves are in fact
more satisfactory than in this country. Certain means of measuring
the possible contamination have been introduced : of these the
most important are the bathing load and the standards of bacterial
purity.
The bathing load is found by dividing the total number of
bathers in a given time by the capacity of the pool in thousands of
gallons. It is a method of easy application, but not very reliable
as so many factors enter into the amount of pollution.
A standard of bacterial purity is more difficult to measure,
but is more reliable. Water from an indoor swimming bath may
afford the most varying bacterial counts according to the number
and cleanliness of the bathers and the treatment which it has
received. The temperature of the water which usually lies between
70° and 74° Fahrenheit, has considerable influence on the count,
owing to the more rapid multiplication of most bacteria at the
higher temperatures, whilst the temperature of the outside air
appears also to exercise considerable influence, probably largely
due to the increased secretion of sweat in hot weather on the per.
. sons of the bathers prior to bathing.