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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London

Woolwich 1935

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]

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Table: TABLE No. 62.Scarlet Fever—Multiple Cases.

TABLE No. 62.

Scarlet Fever—Multiple Cases.

Dockyard.St. Mary's.River.St. George's.Burrage.Herbert.Glyndon.St. Margaret's.Central.St. Nicholas.Abbey Wood.Well Hall.Avery Hill.Sherard.Total Houses.Total Cases.
Number of houses in which
1 case occurred10174111102923532436333055116488488
2 cases occurred413323-63214-2456112
3 „ „--1--1-1---1-3721
4 „ „----------------
5 „ „-------1------15
Total houses14184514123323612738343555143552626
Military Cases---8-----------8
634

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Return Cases.—The following Table, No. 63, shows the number of return
cases, the dates of admission to hospital, and the dates of discharge from hospital.
It will be noted that in most of these cases the primary case was less than five
weeks in hospital.
The period of detention in hospital of cases of scarlet fever has diminished
much in recent years, possibly because more use is now made of anti-streptococcal
serum in the treatment of such cases. A still more recent practice is to add a small
amount of diphtheria anti-toxin in view of the well known complication of
diphtheritic discharge from the nose which used to be responsible for long periods
of detention in hospital of individual cases.
The number of return cases, as set out in the following table, and the number
of multiple cases in households, as shewn in Table 62, are not more than the average
yearly figures. Most Medical Superintendents of infectious diseases hospitals speak
highly of this serum therapy and it is evident that this method of treatment has come
to stay and to shorten the period of isolation in hospital of most cases of scarlet
fever.