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Food and Drugs Act, 1938.
The following article was submitted for chemical examination
during the year in supplementation of the Essex County Council's
Food and Drugs service :
No. Sample Result
270 Oatmeal Satisfactory.
PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF
INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES
Scarlet Fever

The increased incidence of Scarlet Fever which commenced
in the autumn of 1942 continued throughout 1943 with occasional
monthly fluctuation until falling to a much lower level at the end
of November, 1943. The majority of the cases occurred in the
Southern part of the district. Reports show that the infection was
generally of a mild type and that children of the early school ages
were principally, although by no means exclusively, affected.
There has been comparatively little Scarlet Fever in Chingford
for several years, with the consequent development of a highly
susceptible child population. From all available evidence it was
clear that the main spread of infection was by the usual means
of droplet infection and that milk and other foods played no
important part. Analysis of cases in relation to school holidays
gave inconclusive findings. It is possible that several factors
affecting ventilation at home and elsewhere contributed to the
number of cases recorded, but most of those factors are inevitable
under present conditions.
During recent years Scarlet Fever has become a milder infection
than formerly with consequent increased numbers of missed cases
for whom medical advice has not been sought and who have mixed
freely with other children while in a highly infectious state.
Scarlet Fever is recognised nowadays to be only one manifestation
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