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When comparison is made between the total figures of these
two five-year periods, it is seen that the reduction in the total
number of cases notified is from 2,681 to 2,350 (i.e., 12 per cent.);
whereas the corresponding reduction in the number of deaths is
from 72 to 13 (i.e., 82 per cent.).
Scarlet Fever During 1933.
lst Epidemic Period (May-July).
During the week ended 20th May there occurred a sudden
increase in the number of scarlet fever cases in the area; and from
that time until 29th July (a period of 11 weeks) scarlet fever assumed
epidemic form in part of the Borough.
Over the period of eleven weeks some 178 persons were notified
to be suffering from scarlet fever. Of that number 42 (23 per cent.)
were children between one and five years of age; 123 (69 per cent.)
were between five and fifteen years; while only 13 (7 per cent.)
cases occurred at other ages.
As will be seen from these figures, the outbreak occurred chiefly
among children of school age; and the schools chiefly affected were
Norlington, Kirkdale, Newport and Connaught. (In that order of
incidence.)
The outbreak lasted just over two months, and abated as
suddenly as it began. During the week ended 5th August there
was a marked fall in the incidence of cases, and from then until the
end of August the weekly number of notified cases was not abnormal.
2nd Epidemic Period (September-November).
During the week ended 2nd September there recurred a sudden
increase in the incidence of scarlet fever in the Borough and in
London generally. During the following 13 weeks as many as
289 persons in the area were notified as suffering from scarlet fever.
In this outbreak there was nothing to suggest any particular
means of spread of infection, e.g., milk, etc., nor was the outbreak
confined to any particular schools or wards in the Borough.
As regards the severity of the disease, the preponderating
majority of the cases were of the mild type to which we have been
accustomed during recent years.
Institutional Treatment.
As is usual in sudden outbreaks of infectious disease, the
normal accommodation for scarlet fever patients in the Isolation
Hospital was insufficient to meet requirements. However, by