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These results show the percentage return-case rate after hospital
treatment (6.04 per cent.) to be greater than after home treatment
(1.15 per cent.). There is no evidence of any increase in return
cases during periods of pressure and overcrowding of hospital beds—
in fact, the year with the lowest hospital return-case rate, 1934,
was one in which the complication incidence rate was exceptionally
high.
Supervision of Contacts:—
There must be few areas in which any restrictive control is
exercised over the movements or attendance at work of adult
contacts, unless they happen to be teachers, school caretakers or
persons engaged in the handling and distribution of food. On the
other hand, all Education Authorities throughout the country
apply regulations for the exclusion from school of all contacts of
school age from infected households.
The "Memorandum on Closure of and Exclusion from School"
is an official document issued under the joint auspices of the Ministry
of Health and the Board of Education; and the Regulations of
Local Education Authorities are based on the procedure recommended
in that Memorandum.
Since 1st January, 1934, Leyton school contacts have been
excluded for only one week, irrespective of whether the patient
has been isolated in hospital or at home ; whereas previously school
contacts of home-treated cases were excluded for six weeks.
Four years have now elapsed since the modified procedure
was adopted, and Table B shows a statistical comparative analysis
of the incidence of scarlet fever among school contacts during the
two-year period before .