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7
Road School. The cases among children attending the
Brettenham Road School occurred in three distinct groups;
one at the beginning of the year, which may be regarded as
an extension from the 1893 outbreak; one in April and
beginning of May, and one in November and December.
With the last of these groups were connected four out of the
six cases occurring at St. James' School, for among them
was a family whose children attended both schools, and also
the St. James' Sunday School; the existence of the disease
in this family was not discovered until four cases had
occurred in the house. In connection with this group, as
tending to its extension, may also be mentioned the case of
a child who was found to have attended the school for
several days while peeling from the disease, and whose case
was only discovered by my visiting the house in consequence
of a complaint that had been made to me about the child.
Five of the other primary cases were in all probability
contracted from neighbouring houses through the
intercourse of the respective families.
Three others were certainly connected in some way
with each other, for they all developed on the same day, and
all occurred in the same part of the district where there
were other infected houses, but I was not able definitely
to fix the source of contagion.
Three may be regarded as doubtful cases, as no
desquamation followed; six were persons above school age;
and the remaining ten were below school age, or were not
attending school, or were attending a school to which no
other cases could be traced.
In these last 16 cases no facts were elicited which
would enable them to be more definitely grouped.
Three of the total number of cases were fatal; two
being cases of the malignant form of the disease, and dying
in the early stage ; and the third having proved fatal at a
late stage from the septic complications of suppuration in
the ear. The drainage of the premises on which this death
occurred was found to be very defective, and was re-constructed
under the supervision of the Inspector.
At the close of the year two houses remained
infected, viz.: 15, Beale Street, and 6, Town End Villas,
Town Road.
I regard it as probable that one or more mild and
unrecognised cases may have occurred.
diphtheria.
Fifty-one cases of this disease were notified during
the year, with 22 deaths; 11 were secondary cases. In two