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at their places of work, must cease till the child recovered, unless she was
removed to hospital forthwith. I had no reply from any of the parties, but
the child was removed to hospital on June 9th. The doctor who first saw
the case, on May 31st, and did not notify it, explained his omission to do
so by saying that the child was not then suffering from scarlet fever. He
may, of course, have failed to recognise the disease, which there is every
reason to believe then existed, and which was plainly visible to the
second doctor, who notified the case on being called in four days later.
The second case shows how the disease might have been
spread innocently, in ignorance, and wilfully by disobedience
of instructions given to prevent exposure of infected persons.
The particulars are as follows:—
Three children of a coachman contracted the disease: the nature of the
illness appears not to have been recognised, and soon the children were
out and about as though nothing had happened. The father shortly afterwards
fell ill, and a doctor having been called in, he was found to be
suffering from scarlet fever. The doctor examined the children and finding
that three of them were "peeling," he notified all four cases. He
also cautioned the man not to go out or allow his children to go out. Notwithstanding,
the man did go out and allowed his children to go out,
even after he had been again cautioned both by the Sanitary Inspector and
by his employer.
The facts of this case were laid before the Works and Sanitary
Committee, who directed proceedings to be taken under
Section 68 of the Public Health Act, 1891. The man pleaded
guilty, and was let off with a fine of twenty shillings in his own
case, and of one shilling in each of the other two cases, with
costs, a total of twenty-eight shillings.
STATISTICAL RETURNS:- SCARLET FEVER.
At the request of your Vestry, I prepared information,
in the form of the subjoined Tables, for the use of
the Asylums Board, in 1887, the Managers being desirous of
forming a correct estimate of the accommodation likely to be
required for scarlet fever in the future. Such information is
now furnished by the notification returns. The Tables, nevertheless,
as brought up to date, still possess interest,