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50
SMALL POX.—On November 12th my opinion was
invited in respect of G. D., aged 28 years, residing at Vestris
Road, Forest Hill. I found the patient suffering from Small
Pox and secured his immediate removal to Hospital. The
patient was taken ill on the 6th, the rash appeared on the 8th
November. He was a workman employed by a firm of silver
refiners at Rotherhithe. The necessary precautions were taken
by observation and re-vaccination of contacts, and the thorough
disinfection of the infected premises and contents. Fortunately
no extension of the disease occurred in this district. The above
case was the only one occurring in the year, compared with 84 in
1902.
SCARLET FEVER.—The total number of notification
certificates received amounted to 466, compared with 651 in the
previous year.
Of the notified cases 347, or 74 per cent. were removed to
the Metropolitan Asylums Board Hospitals. Subsequent events
proved that eighteen, or 5.2 per cent. of the cases so admitted
were not suffering from the disease, and were in consequence
returned to their homes. Deducting this number from the total
notifications a corrected total of 448 is obtained, equal to an
attack rate of 3.28 per 1,000 persons living at all ages, a marked
decrease compared with the attack rate of 4.81 per 1,000 for the
year 1902. Compared with other London Boroughs the attack rate
is high. (See Table 24.)
An examination of the attack rates for the various Wards
shows the highest attack rate (5.43 per 1,000), occurred in
the Catford Ward, against 6.55 per 1,000 in 1902. The area
least affected was Church Ward, 1.66 per 1,000, compared with
5.05 in 1902. (See Tables 21 and 22).
In relation to age periods the greatest number of cases, 37
per cent., occurred between the age periods five to ten years, 28