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129
DIPHTHERIA.
During 1914 5,644 specimens were examined in the Laboratory.
Of these 1,482 were primary examinations for diagnostic purposes;
the remaining were from contacts who had been exposed to
diphtheria or from the throat and nose of convalescents. The
latter were examined so as to ascertain if the bacillus of diphtheria
was absent from the nose and throat. In some cases many
examinations extending over several weeks were required before
it was found to have disappeared.
Every case of Scarlet Fever was also examined bacteriologically
for the diphtheria bacillus, and patients giving a positive
result were at once isolated to prevent the introduction of diphtheria
in a scarlet fever ward.
Many specimens from cases of sore throat or nasal discharge
occurring in children attending elementary schools were also
examined.