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9
their friends and relatives to hospital when attacked by either of
those diseases. We know how signally all such predictions
have failed, it now being a very rare circumstance for any
opposition being offered to removal to hospital of such cases
where proper isolation cannot be provided at home. Indeed,
it is very common for the Sanitary department to receive a request
for the removal of the patient, together with the notification
form. In every case where the notifying medical attendant
is not satisfied with the efficiency of isolation of a case, the
assistant inspector of the sub-district in which it occurs, inspects
the house as soon as the notification is received; and, in the
majority of cases, the patient is in hospital within two or three
hours, without trouble or expense to the family or friends.
The continued diminution of zymotic diseases depends
upon the energetic and early isolation of the sick, and the
separation of the healthy from them.
Vaccina- The supplemental return, made to the Guardians
tion Re-
turns for 1888 annually by their Vaccination Officer, is subjoined.
The total number of births returned by the Registrars
was 5,081, of whom 476 died unvaccinated, a great number
being children of premature birth. Forty were returned as
insusceptible of vaccination; which is very doubtful, as arm to
arm vaccination will be successful in 99 per cent. of cases, and
the so termed insusceptible cases will generally take if care be
taken to vaccinate with fresh lymph from arm to arm. The use
of stored lymph, whether human or animal, is, without doubt,
the cause of most of the failures. Five hundred and fifty-seven
had removed, or were lost sight of, a very large proportion
altogether, as the Vaccination Officers of the districts to which
removals could only be communicated with in sixteen cases.
The postponement, by medical certificate, of eighty-two cases,
had not expired at the date of the return. The other 3,926 cases
were successfully vaccinated.