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which was carried out by the Council's Bacteriologist. This also was positive as to the
presence of the diphtheria bacillus. A week later, a third examination having failed
to reveal the presence of the bacillus and the aspect of his throat being normal, the
patient was released from isolation. That the whole of these cases of " sore throat"
were really cases of diphtheria there is very little reason to doubt. There is a history of
exposure to infection in the case of the girl first affected which is a reasonable one, the
sequence of cases pointing to infection, and the isolation of the bacillus of diphtheria
in the last of the series of cases.
In connection with enquiries made as to 132 of the cases certified during the year
their distribution amongst males and females at certain age periods was found to be as
follows:

Of these 132 cases in 58 the children certified to have diphtheria were attending school
and in 46 they were at school within a week of being certified to have the disease. In
a few of the cases children were actually in school whilst suffering from the disease before
the nature of their illness was recognised. In 60 other instances, although the
patients themselves were not school-going children, other children either members of the
same family as the patients or dwelling under the same roof, were attending school at
the time the cases were certified. In 17 instances there were histories of "sore throats"
in the patients' families or amongst the people dwelling in the same houses as the
patients. In 27 instances evidence was obtained pointing to infection from previous
cases in the house or elsewhere within the Borough. In 87 instances the houses in which
the cases occurred were occupied by members of more than one family, in 22 the
houses were occupied by single families, and in 23 instances the cases occurred in
artizan dwellings. In 76 instances the houses in which the cases occurred were in a
satisfactory sanitary condition and in 29 others the condition was fairly satisfactory,
minor matters only requiring attention. In 27 instances the sanitary condition of the
houses was unsatisfactory; some were dirty and overcrowded, and in others more or less
serious defects were ascertained to exist in connection with the drains and sanitary
arrangements generally.