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9
PREVALENCE OF AND CONTROL OVER
INFECTIOUS AND OTHER DISEASES.
SCARLET FEVER.
The epidemic incidence of scarlet fever continued
during the first quarter of the year, after which the number
of notifications rapidly diminished and there were only a
few cases in the second half of the year. The total number
of cases notified was 98 compared with 185 for the previous
year. This gives a rate of 2.19 per 1,000 population.
The proportion of cases treated at home was increased,
a figure of 43 as against 55 removed to Hospital. Once
again there was no evidence that retention at home resulted
in an increased number of secondary cases and an advantage
lay with the home treated cases inasmuch as they gave
rise to no "return cases."A" return case" is a case
which has presumably been infected by another case
within 28 days of the latter's return from hospital or
release from isolation. There were four "infecting cases"
among hospital treated patients who gave rise to four
"return cases" after discharge. In three out of the four
there were residual infective conditions of the ear, nose
or throat. There were only nine instances in which more
than one ease occurred in a family. Scarlet fever commonly
occurs as a single case in a family and the source of
infection is, more often than not, untraceable. The type
of disease, on the whole, remained mild and no deaths
occurred.
DIPHTHERIA.
No ease of diphtheria was notified during the year, a
unique circumstance for the district. Annual records
going back for fifty years do not show a previous negative
return within that period. While immunisation has, no
doubt, played a part in producing this happy event good
fortune has also been partly responsible, as the desirable
goal of a completely immune child population has not yet