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33
of dead skin thrown off from the body of the Scarlet Fever
case. The cases which I have just related well illustrate
the at least frequent innocuousness of these epetheliel scales,
and my own experiences coincide with the observations of
many others throughout the country.
Not only is desquamation dethroned from the high estate
into which it once entered but the infectivity of fomites—of
infected articles—is regarded by many as an exploded notion.
That for instance the doll of the deceased Scarlatina child
which has been retreived from its seclusion, perhaps for years
after the bereavement, to be placed in the hands of another
child is not the cause of the Scarlet Fever to which that child
quickly succumbs, but can be explained more rationally
by human agency. In the present state of knowledge, however,
it is not wise to ruthlessly abandon the notions which
have prevailed in the past in regard to fomites. On the other
hand to take a less stale infection the fact cannot be ignored
that in certain cases where the contact with fomites has been
free and continuous and harmless, the individuals have
promptly succumbed to the malady on contact with infected
persons.
Scarlatina is a disease that is full of surprises. At one
time it is very mild, at another very virulent; at another it
is very contagious, and then again it is but very slightly or
not at all so. Sometimes the power to infect is quickly
dissipated, at others it clings to the person of the protected
and unprotected (healthy) for months, perhaps years. Then
again it is not constantly infectious but only intermittently so.
Its occasional association with diphtheria has already been
dwelt upon. It is always in our midst, and more or less prevalent
everywhere throughout the Kingdom.
The possibility therefore, of surrounding and throttling
so fickle and so elusive an adversary does not seem hopeful
in the present state of knowledge.
When the virus is discovered, the study of its habits and
the detection of its habitat will perhaps not only afford a
satisfactory explanation for the capricousness of the disease,
but will also give, it is to be hoped, increased control over
its powers of infection.