View report page

9
The Board have recently intimated that arrangements have been made for
isolation of cases of measles in their hospitals in the event of the disease becoming
epidemic. Towards the latter part of the year feverish conditions in lying-in women
were made notifiable as puerperal pyrexia. Cases of puerperal pyrexia are also
receivable into the hospitals of the Board.
The cases of diphtheria, scarlet fever, enteric fever, puerperal fever, puerperal
pyrexia, cerebro-spinal fever, polio-myelitis and encephalitis lethargica certified
numbered 840, and the number removed to hospital was 836, or 99.5 per cent. Almost
all the cases removed went into the hospitals of the Board.
RETURN CASES.
The following were noted during the year : —
(1) Olive H — —, aged 14, resident at a house in H— —Street, was removed
with scarlet fever on November 6th, 1925, returning home on December 17th following.
Seven days later Dorothy H— —, aged nine, a sister, fell ill and was removed on
December 30th. Ronald H— —, aged three, was taken ill on January 18th, 1926,
and was removed to hospital the following day and subsequently Phyllis H— —, aged
15, was taken ill and removed to hospital on January 25th. Olive, when examined on
January 26th had slightly enlarged tonsils and glands could be felt, but otherwise she
seemed quite well. It was ascertained in connection with these cases that a maid,
aged 17, a daily worker at the house in H— —Street, developed a sore throat towards
the end of October, 1925, but there was no history of any eruption or desquamation.
There is the possibility of a missed case in connection with this series.
(2) John S— — , aged three, a resident at a house in S— —Road, was removed to
hospital with scarlet fever on July 15th, returning home on November 18th. At the
time of his return he had a nasal discharge. Dorothy S— —, sister, aged six, of same
address, was taken ill on December 3rd and removed to hospital two days later. She
was attending school at the time she fell ill. The nasal discharge in the case of John
was still present on December 9th and the usual instructions were given. No further
cases occurred.
SMALLPOX.
No cases were certified in Shoreditch. Two or three were certified elsewhere in
the metropolis, one of which proved fatal. A few residents in the Borough who may
have been more or less exposed to infection in connection with the cases mentioned
had to be kept under observation but none of them showed any signs of the disease.
SCARLET FEVER.
The cases certified numbered 432, of which 63, or 14.6 per cent., were subsequently
not regarded as scarlet fever. This percentage is higher than that for 1925, and is
greatly above the average.