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30
Two of the cases notified received their infection directly from a
previous case of enteric fever. One was that of a nurse who was
in attendance on the case, and the other that of a boy who had slept
with his brother during part of the latter's illness before its nature
was suspected.
Measles. There were 27 deaths from this disease compared
with 28, 15 and 19 in the three preceding years. This is equal to a
death rate from measles of 0.49.
So far as could be judged from the incomplete information
available, the district was practically free from measles until the last
quarter of the year. Towards the end of October, however, the
disease set in with great suddenness and in November nine deaths
due to it were registered, followed by 16 deaths in December.
Church Street Ward was the first to suffer severely, and it was here
that the greater number of the early deaths occurred, but before the
end of the year the epidemic had assumed considerable proportions
among the schools in other parts of the district.
The usual entertainments for school children that are held during
the Christmas holidays were, at my request, postponed with a view
to preventing the admixture of children from different localities.
Owing to the suddeness with which the epidemic set in, however,
many of the schools were already infected by the time such
information as was available reached me. School closure was not,
therefore, resorted to, as I am convinced that little good in the way
of prevention can be expected from this measure in an urban area,
unless it is put into force in the very early stages of a measles
outbreak.
Arrangements have now been made by the Education Committee
for establishing a system of notification by the teachers and
attendance officers, of all cases of infectious disease coming to their
notice among the scholars. An account of this system will be found
in an appendix to this report and I have every reason to hope