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which might need it, and could appropriately he kept at
home. The Bexley Nursing Fund agreed to assist in this
matter, and the Corporation pay 1s. per visit for one case,
or 6d. per visit per case for more than one case in the
home at the same time, where the arrangements are approved
by the Medical Officer of Health.
201 cases of whooping cough were notified from the
schools and there were two deaths. Both were children
under six months of age who developed bronchopneumonia
as a complication.
Dysentery.
One death certified as due to this cause relates to an
infant who died in the County Hospital early in the year.
The Sonne Dysentery Epidemic.
On the 28th of October, a General Practitioner informed
me that he was attending, in this district, many
cases of acute diarrhoea associated in some cases with
vomiting and a slight rise in temperature. The cases
recovered after three or four days. I ascertained from
other practitioners that similar cases were occurring
throughout the whole of the Borough, and on communicating
with other areas and the Ministry of Health found
that the epidemic was not localised to this Borough, butoccurring
throughout the country.
General practitioners were written to and asked to
supply the Department with the names and addresses of
any similar cases for investigation by the Department,
and it was suggested that swabs from stools should be
sent for bacteriological examination.
The practitioners responded and in all 68 cases were
investigated by the Department, and 34 stools were sent
for examination. The number of cases in the district
was probably many hundreds, as only a few called in
their doctors; for example many children were seen at
the Child Welfare Clinics, and an attack of diarrhoea and
vomiting was only mentioned by the mother as a passing
feature. The mildness of the disease is further evidenced
by the fact that no deaths were certified as due to
Dysentery during the outbreak in the Borough although
persons of all ages were affected including an old person
who was frail and also suffering from another disease.
Amongst those investigated, all ages were affected including
one breast fed baby.
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