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69
The children were Schick tested and immunised about Christmas
1924, and early in 1925. One case has been notified since, in
July 1925, the case of a small boy who had only been admitted three
weeks before from Monmouthshire.
Beyond this, from the time of immunising there has not been
a single case of diphtheria in the building.
Scarlet Fever.
Scarlet fever to-day is one of the greatest curses from the administrative
point of view. Its diagnosis in the old days was
obvious, but to-day as was pointed out by one of the Superintendents
of a large fever hospital, it is one of the most difficult diseases
to diagnose, in some Institutions the errors in diagnosis amounting
to 40 per cent, of the admissions to the scarlet fever wards.
Since the discovery by the two doctors Dick in America of
the streptococcal cause of scarlet fever much investigation has been
going on and now a reaction, similar to the Schick reaction for
diphtheria, known as the Dick reaction, is being carried out, whereby
it is possible to differentiate the susceptible from the non-susceptible
working along the same lines, and the protective inoculation
is being employed to immunise the susceptible.
In addition to these, there is what is known as the Schultz
Charlton inoculation where by inoculating the serum from a convalescent
case into a doubtful case it is possible to tell with almost
certainty whether a doubtful case is one of scarlet fever or not.
The type of the disease which we have had in the district
during the last five years has been mild in character, but however
mild it may be, it does not safeguard the patient from the unpleasant
sequelae mainly ear troubles which are apt to last for
many years and often with serious consequences.