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In addition there are twelve beds in the Cubicle Block which,
at times, are used for this purpose.
At no period of the year were all the beds occupied.
The greatest monthly number of notifications (25) was in September
and the least (7) in June—the average throughout the year being 16.
In September 13 of the cases were discovered by me or members
of the Medical Staff, and were mainly School children.
I have previously ventured to state that our children in attendance
at School are less liable to contract this disease than at other times,
and many years experience shows that the careful supervision of the
children by the Teachers is a very important factor in our control
of the disease.
By way of the School Clinics were discovered 57 suffering with
Clinical Diphtheria and 53 children with the disease in a nonclinical
form.
Scarlet Fever.—In normal times 38 beds—14 for acute and 24
for convalescent cases—are provided for this disease.
Although a smaller number than usual of the cases admitted were
found to have Diphtheria bacilli in the Throat and Nose, or both,
their stay in Hospital was in consequence prolonged, and the
accommodation in the cubicles very materially helped in dealing
successfully with these cases.
Throughout the year the number failing with this disease was
fairly uniform, the minimum number in any month was 14 in
February and the maximum 41 in November. These were followed
by 31 in March and 33 in December, but at no period of the year
was there any difficulty in isolating and treating the patients in
Hospital.
Although the type of case was generally mild, and the number
isolated small, the "return cases" were numerous in spite of the
precautions taken and their isolation well over the accepted normal
safe period.
Length of stay in Hospital nor completion of desquamation has
any influence in the prevention of "Return Cases," but the association
of these with patients who suffered from a mixed infection was
marked.
The following particulars show the month of discharge of infecting
cases, the duration of illness, the interval between discharge and