View report page

136
present in only two cases. Giddiness was present in 14 instances,
and in 5 of these this symptom was very pronounced,
and in 2 instances the patient suffered from attacks of faintness,
and in 1 case the child was taken suddenly ill in the
street with fainting. In 3 cases the child was stated to be
delirious at night-time, and in 4 the most pronounced symptom
was great drowsiness. Abdominal pain was pronounced in 9
cases, and in 1 instance was said to be very acute.
Incubative Period.—It has been found impossible to
arrive at any conclusion as to the incubative period of this
disease. Of the 40 persons affected 31 were single cases. 3
occurred in one family, and in 3 instances 2 occurred in a
family. Of the 3 cases in one family, there was 16 days'
interval between the first symptoms of the first patient and
the illness of the second child, and 7 days later the third
child fell ill, but it is obviously impossible to say whether the
third patient contracted it from the first or second. Of the 3
other instances where more than one member of a family was
affected, the interval between the first and second case was 3
days in one, 14 in a second, and about 3-4 weeks in a third
In one instance it was possible to trace definite contact
between four children belonging to 3 different families. A,
B, C, D four girls (A and B sisters), aged respectively 10, 8,
10, 5, were in the habit of playing together; C and D lived
next door to each other. A first fell ill at the commencement
of October, C fell ill on October 19th, having been ill for a
few weeks previous to this date, and had been away from
school, but she used to associate with D. B, the sister, then
became affected 14 days later. Possibly this may point to an
incubative period varying from about 14 days to 3 weeks.
With these exceptions, however, it was found impossible to
trace the sources of infection apart from the possibility of
school infection.
The Latent Period, that is the period between the first
symptoms of the disease and the yellow appearance, varied
considerably. Too much stress must not be put upon this, as
in several instances enquiries were made some time after the
illness, and the parents had forgotten the exact day of illness.