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from sore-throat of a suspiciously diphtheritic type, but some others
with sore throat of a simple nature, and a few with slight fever and
malaise, but no sore throat, and asked my co-operation to prevent the
spread of what was apparently an infectious disease.
On seeing the sick girls, I arrived at the same conclusions as
Dr. Greenwood—the worst cases taken alone would, perhaps, have
justified their being notified as cases of Diphtheria; but the milder
cases appeared clinically to deserve only the name of sore throat.
I suggested to Dr. Greenwood the advisab.lity of making a
bacteriological examination of the exudation on the throats of the
worst cases. This was done by Dr. Potts, assistant medical officer
to the Homerton Fever Hospital, who wrote me on the following
day, that he had found diphtheritic bacilli in large quantities in
the cultivation from the throat of one of the patients, and a few
from the cultivations of two others. In the first case the bacilli
were in sufficient quantity to establish a positive diagnosis.
Taking the clinical symptoms of the worst cases with the
bacteriological test, I felt convinced I had to deal with a localised
outburst of Diphtheria. As there was not sufficient accommodation
in the institution for the isolation and treatment of all the cases, I
suggested the removal of the worst to the Asylum Board's
Hospital, and that convalescing cases should be kept in quarantine—
a large dormitory was available for this purpose—and that fresh
cases of sore-throat should be immediately isolated. These preventive
measures were put into operation immediately. Fresh cases
continued to develop until the 18th of the month, when the last
was notified.
Subsequently, on making inquiry of Dr. Goodall, medical superintendent
of the Homerton Fever Hospital, to which the worst cases
had been removed, as to their progress, he wrote me, "My own
opinion is that these girls suffered from a very mild form of
Diphtheria."
On inquiry, I learned that there had been a succession
of cases of sore throat disease in the school since the 7th of