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Diphtheria.—The total number of cases notified during
the year was sixty-four from fifty-nine houses. The attack
rate was 1.07 per thousand of the population.
In five houses there were two cases, and in the remaining
fifty-four houses, one case.
Sixty-three, or ninety-eight per cent. of the patients, were
treated in the Isolation Hospital.
One death occurred, giving a death rate of 0.01 per
thousand of the population.
Fifty-nine per Cert. of the cases notified were children of
school age, five to fifteen years, and of these, thirty-six
attended the following schools:—
Haydon's Road Boys' School 5
Haydon's Road Girls' School 4
Haydon's Road Infants' School 6
Queen's Road Girls' School 5
Queen's Road Boys' School 3
Queen's Road Infants' School 1
Dundonald Road Boys' School 1
Dundonald Road Girls' and Infants'
Schools 3
Russell Road Mixed School 2
Wimbledon Park School 3
Cottenham Park School 1
Pelham Road Infants' School 1
Schools outside the Borough 1
Total 36
Careful investigation is carried out after each case of
diphtheria has been notified. School children from infected
houses are swabbed and not re-admitted to school until a
negative result has been obtained. These swabs are either
taken by the family doctor or by the staff of the Public
Health Department, according to the circumstances of the
case. Adult contacts living in the same house are also
advised to have swabs taken from the nose and throat and
in most cases they agree to this precaution being carried out.
Enteric Fever.—Two cases of paratyphoid fever were
notified. Both were nursed at home.
One death occurred, equal to a mortality rate of 0.01
per thousand of the population. This patient was elderly
and died of heart failure after the infection had subsided.
Pull investigations were instituted as to the source of
the infection. In neither instance had the disease arisen
through the water or milk supply.
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