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were under nurses from the Local District Nursing Association who made some 358
visits in connection with them. The cases certified in Shoreditch were at the rate of
22.2 per 1,000 births as compared with 9.2 for the Metropolis as a whole.
EPIDEMIC CEREBROSPINAL MENINGITIS.
One case only was certified : a boy, aged 4 months, died in the Queen's Hospital
from post basic meningitis on August 19th ; the meningococcus of cerebro-spinal
fever was found.
Five deaths were certified to be due to meningitis other than tuberculous, three
in infants under twelve months, but so far as could be ascertained there was no reason
for regarding any of them as having been caused by the meningococcus of cerebrospinal
fever.
During the year some 88 cases were certified in London.
ACUTE ANTERIOR POLIOMYELITIS.
No cases were certified in Shoreditch. Some 41 cases were notified in the
Metropolis, mostly during the latter part of the year.
ENCEPHALITIS LETHARGICA.
There were no cases certified in Shoreditch. Some 71 cases, most of which
occurred during the first six months of the year, were certified in London.
GLANDERS, ANTHRAX AND HYDROPHOBIA.
One case of anthrax was certified in Shoreditch. The particulars are briefly
as follows :—
A young man, aged 25 years, employed in the brush trade, and working with
bristles, was certified as suffering from Anthrax on September 7th. He first noticed
a pimple over his right eye on September 1st, on 5th and 6th he was seen by his
doctor and again on 7th, when he was sent to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, where
the case was diagnosed as one of anthrax and certified accordingly. Attention was
directed to a consignment of black bristles from China, two cases having been received
on August 14th. These had been recently handled by the patient. There were also
on the premises a number of bundles of white bristles from Russia received back in
February ; these, however, were stated not to have been handled by the patient.
It is also to be mentioned that there were horse bristles supplied by a British firm on
the premises at the time. Samples from all three of the classes of bristles were submitted
to the bacteriologist, who reported the presence of anthrax bacilli and spores
in both the Chinese and Russian, but not in the British. Further examinations
indicated that the bulk of the Chinese were not infected, but the Russian bristles were
highly charged with bacilli and spores and there was reason for assuming that the
Chinese had been infected from the Russian. This was subsequently borne out by