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the good that has accrued to Lambeth. In this connection
may be mentioned the following particulars (amongst
others):—
(1) The concurrent decrease in the Diphtheria-rate since
the establishment of the Laboratory, viz., from 438
deaths during 1894—1899 to 160 deaths during
1900—1905 per million living, i.e., an average saving
of 80 deaths yearly.
(2) The stamping out of an outbreak of Typhoid Fever
on the Springfield Estate, Wandsworth Road, during
1899—1900.
(3) The stamping out of Diphtheria and
theria outbreaks in connection with the City of
London Schools (Ferndale Road) and the Lambeth
Parochial Schools (West Norwood), in 1900 and
1905 respectively.
(4) The success of the preventive measures taken in
connection with the spread of Consumption in
1902-5, owing to the greater precision in the diagnosis
of the disease.
The Laboratory has also been of great service to the
medical men practising within the Borough—the local and
central position being, in this respect, specially advantageous,
enabling the results to be quickly obtained, and at
a minimum cost (the up-keep of the Laboratory being under
£50 yearly). Further, the Medical Officer, being the
Director of the Laboratory, is directly responsible to the
Council for its management and efficiency, thereby ensuring
trustworthy results.
The value of a bacteriological examination is as an aid to
diagnosis : it cannot take the place of a clinical examination.
There are, however, certain cases of infectious disease,
which, by virtue of the mildness or apparent absence of
clinical symptoms, are extremely difficult, if not impossible,
to diagnose without the help of bacteriology, and in such
cases the laboratory has been found invaluable. Mild cases
of Typhoid Fever and Diphtheria have, in this way, been
discovered, and the patients isolated, and other measures
taken, thereby preventing the spread of these diseases.