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89
Diphtheria.—During 1924 there was a small but steady incidence
throughout the year; in 1925 a trough occurred in the curve
and very few cases were notified, but towards the end of the year
the notifications began to increase steadily, the curve reaching its
apex in November and December, 1926; the curve then declined
through 1927 until the last quarter, when the tend became upwards
once more, reaching its apex in January, 1928, this was followed
by a slight fall, followed by a slight rise until December, 1928,
when another fall commenced, reaching its minimum in July, 1929,
from when the curve rose steadily to its maximum in November.
In 1930 Diphtheria was not troublesome, though there was a small
rise in the number of cases in October, reaching a maximum of 22
during the week ending October 18th. In 1931 the highest number
of cases arose in February and the last two weeks of March. In
1932 there was a slight rise in March, and again in mid September
and the end of November. The weekly average of cases was 2.2.
Whooping Cough, from being inconspicuous in 1924, the
curve rose gradually to a maximum in May, June and July, 1925,
then fell rapidly to a minimum in November and December, then
rose very gradually to a lower maximum in September, 1926; once
again the curve fell abruptly to a minimum in January, 1927, rose
in June and July, and fell again gradually to a minimum in
November and December, then rose steadily to the highest level of
the period under review in January, 1929, from when it fell steadily
to the end of the year. Throughout 1930 it remained quite inconspicuous,
until December when there were indications of the commencement
of a wave of increased incidence which persisted in
1931 until the end of July, after which the number of cases, dropped
considerably. December showed a small rise in cases. A wave of
increased incidence occurred in 1932, commencing the second week
in April and persisting until the end of July.
Measles was very prevalent in April and May, 1924, then
dropped suddenly, but showed a small rebound during September,
October and November, after when it died away until a sudden rise
in May, June and July, 1925, was followed, after a fall, by a
further and more prolonged rise from October, 1925, to May, 1926.
During 1927 there was very little Measles in Croydon; a small rise
in October, November and December, however, heralded a very
big incidence of cases—the highest during the period under review
-during the first six months of 1928. Practically no cases occurred
alter this exacerbation, until March, 1929, but during this month,
and April, May and June, 1929, a number of cases occurred from
when the incidence dropped away until the end of the year.