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No cases treated at home who had not caused infection in
others of the household before the disease was diagnosed did so
afterwards.
There were no recovery cases following on the freeing from
isolation of the recovered patient. Most uncomplicated cases were
freed about the 28th day, though a number were freed in the fourth
week, while a few were under the supervision of their medical
attendants up to six weeks from the onset of their illnesses.
Two patients suffered from concurrent infections, mumps in
one case and chicken-pox in the other.
These findings suggest that while this mild type of scarlet
fever case can quite well in many houses be treated at home so
far as the risk of infection to others is concerned, it would not
appear that in all cases adequate care is taken in the nursing of the
patient.
Cases following Operations on Naso-pharynx.
Compared with the six cases of last year, there was only one
case which followed on the operative treatment of tonsils and
adenoids. In this instance the onset of the illness was on the
fifth day after the operation. The disease was not recognised until
it had given rise to a secondary case.
Deaths.
There were only two deaths amongst those who contracted
scarlet fever locally this year, both of female patients in hospital.
One was due to the septic type of the disease. In the other gangrene
occurred in the third week of an apparently very mild attack. A
third death, that of an adult female, an inmate of an institution
outside this area was allocated to this district.
Dick-testing and Active Immunization.
Apart from those tests carried out for diagnostic purposes in
the isolation hospital, no persons were Dick-tested during the year
and none immunized.
Schools and Scarlet Fever.
Of the 501 cases notified, 179 were children who at the time of
or immediately prior to, the onset of the illness were in attendance
at one of the local public elementary schools. In 69 cases the
patient was the only person who suffered from scarlet fever at that
time, the onset of illness of any other children who attended the
same department being separated from that of each of these cases
by more than 10 days. On 11 occasions a single case occurred in
the same department in a school in two consecutive weeks, and
on one occasion in three consecutive weeks. Two cases occurred
in the same department in one week on six occasions. On another
two, two cases in one week were preceded by one in the previous
week, and on two occasions two cases were followed by one in the