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33
payers of London were last year put to an unnecessary charge
of £2000 at least, in respect of Woolwich children, who could
have been equally well, and much more economically, treated
at home
41 Return Cases There were 58 cases in which infection
was attributed to a patient recently returned from hospital,
compared with 14, 13, 30, and 38, in the four preceding years
The interval between the return of the infecting case and
commencement of illness varied from 2 to 22 days Of the
infecting cases, 10 had some form of rhinitis on or after
their return; 3 otorrhœa; and 1 sore throat
The number of return cases was the highest on record ; of
course, it by no means follows that, because a case of scarlet
fever occurs shortly after contact with a return case of that
disease, therefore the returned case was necessarily the source
of infection It may only have been a coincidence Out of a
large number of cases there are sure to be a certain number
of such coincidences But it seems probable that the majority
are something more than coincidences The great majority of
the returned cases appeared quite well on return, and no blame
can be attached to the staff of the Fever Hospital in any case
As a rule, the children returning from hospital are quite
well at the moment of leaving, but in many cases develop
some nasal discharge on arriving home, or within a few days
Illustrative cases of this were given in the 1908 report
As recorded in previous reports, special instructions are
given to parents of returning cases, but it does not appear that
much advantage has ensued
The Hospital Superintendents forward the names of any
children discharged while still suffering from rhinorrhoea It
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