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35
No. of houses where 1 case occurred 127
,, ,, ,, ,, 2 cases „ 14
,, ,, ,, ,, 3 „ 10
,, ,, ,, ,, 5„ 1
,, ,, ,, ,, 31 ,, ,, (a school). 1
Total number of houses where cases occurred 153
Total number of cases 221
DIPHTHERIA.
Eighty-four cases of Diphtheria occurred during the year in 73
houses, although I received 85 notifications.
No. of houses where 1 case occurred 66
,, ,, ,, ,, 2 cases ,, 5
,, ,, ,, ,, 3 ,, ,, 1
,, ,, ,, ,, 5 ,, ,, (a school) 1
Total number of houses where cases occurred 73
Total number of cases 84
A reference to the chart will shew that in 8 weeks no cases
were reported, and for 25 weeks we only received one each week.
On receipt of a notification it is my invariable custom to swab
as many contacts as I can find, and by this means 1 was able to
discover 8 carriers during the year, and I always swab every child
who has had an attack of the disease before allowing him to return
to school.
ANTI-TOXIN.
The following remarks of Dr. Haldane Cook the PhysicianSuperintendent
of the Enfield and Edmonton Joint Hospital Board,
in his Annual Report for 1913-14, are so admirable that I feel
constrained, with his permission to embody them in this Report.
"The circulation of Annual Reports amongst members of the
"medical profession, for the purpose of comparison, is one of their
"most useful features. An Annual Report which was sent to me
"last year by a Medical Officer of Health contained the information
"that in the hospital of which he had charge, the operation of
"tracheotomy had been performed on 14 per cent., of all cases of
"diphtheria admitted to his wards. During the past two years we
"have treated 378 cases of Diphtheria with two tracheotomies, just
"over one half per cent. The mortality has been much the same
"at both hospitals. While not in any way presuming to criticise the
"treatment as described in the report to which I have referred, the