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102
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
after 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.
Another wave of considerable intensity commenced abruptly during
the last week of February, 1930, reaching its maximum in the
second week of March and dying away gradually until terminating
at the end of June. During 1931, Measles was quite inconspicuous;
but in 1932 there was a sharp rise in cases the second
week in April which reached a maximum in the last week in June,
falling then rapidly. The beginning of another wave showed itself
at the end of November and the cases were steadily increasing in
number for the rest of the year. The measles waves therefore
were as follows: the first half of 1924, the second half of 1925, and
the first quarter of 1926; first half of 1928, the first half of 1929,
the first half of 1930, and the first half of 1932. Measles was
rather prevalent during the first quarter of 1933, dropping rapidly
during the second quarter and not becoming noticeable again until
December. The characteristics of the Measles curves were their
abrupt rises and rather less abrupt falls.
Chicken Pox.— A small wave of cases occurred during the first
half of 1924, followed by a higher wave covering the last quarter
of 1924 and the first half of 1925; another irregular wave was
experienced during the first half of 1926, followed by a secondary
in the last quarter. During 1927 and 1928 there was a fairly high
and steady incidence with a peak in October and November, 1927.
Another wave came during the latter half of 1929 with its maximum
in December; this wave continued into 1930, gradually declining to
a minimum at the end of July. Another wave commenced in
November and continued until the end of the year. In 1931
Chicken Pox was prevalent until the end of June, when the number
of cases declined and remained low until November, when the
cases again rose. During 1932 the incidence remained steady until
the end of March when a rise occurred, persisting until the end of
August. After the vacation the disease practically died out for the
remainder of the year. Chicken Pox rose during the first, half of
the year to reach a maximum early in July. It then dropped
rapidly and did not show any signs of recrudescence until the end
of November,