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17
SECTION II.—ACUTE INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
I—GENERAL PREVALENCE.
(a) Notifications.
The number of notifications of scarlet fever, diphtheria, and
pneumonia, which reached a ihigh figure during 1922, fell to a low
level during 1923 (Appendix, Table V.). The prevalence of notifiable
and non-notifiable infectious diseases was in general unusually
low during the year.
15 notifications of enteric fever were received in 1923, as
against 4 in 1922; but it is pointed out in a later section that the
diagnosis was incorrect in a number of instances.
(b) Deaths.
21 deaths were recorded from diphtheria, 20 from influenza, 11
from whooping cough, 9 from measles, and 2 from scarlet fever.
(Appendix, Table>V.).
2.—SCARLET FEVER.
Out of a total of 379 cases notified as suffering from scarlet
fever, 333 were admitted to the Borough Hospital or other institutions,
the remaining 46 being treated at home. 16 cases were also
admitted to the hospital from the urban district of Penge, in accordance
with that authority.
The disease was in general of a mild type. No deaths occurred
at the Borough Hospital. A total of 2 deaths from scarlet fever
was registered, giving a case mortality of 0.5 per cent.; 1 occurred
at home, the other at an institution outside the Borough.
The average duration of stay of scarlet fever patients in the
Borough Hospital was 42.3 days.
Hospital Return Cases—Scarlet Fever.
17 return cases of scarlet fever were reported, following on the
return home of an equal number of patients from the Borough
Hospital after treatment for the disease.
Of the 17 infecting cases, 8 showed no signs suggestive of
infectivity on examination at their 'homes; 3 others had meanwhile
left the Borough, so that examination could not be made; 2 had