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22
Class.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Primary Cases
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Secondary Cases
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1
1
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We see from this that the disease fell with great severity upon
the Infant School—the average attendance of which was 360 scholars
—27 out of a total of 35 occurring in this department, and no less
than eight in one class, seven of these being primary cases. Earlier
in the report, I mentioned that the 23 primary cases represented the
same number of households; so before finally deciding, whether
these cases could be attributed to school infection, it is necessary to
consider other influences to which they might be attributed. An
inspection of the premises and a testing of the house drains were
made in each case, and in only three cases were any defects of the
drains found. In one house there was a defect in the yard gulley, in
two others there was a defect in the w.c. of each house. This
evidence excludes sanitary defects as a cause of the epidemic. The
milk supplied to these households was derived from several dealers,
and in some cases condensed milk only was used in the household.
Clearly, milk could not have been instrumental in spreading the
disease. So far as I could ascertain, there had not been any disease
of a Diphtheritic nature amongst cats or other animals in this
district. I had a similar inspection made of the Daubeney Eoad
Board School and its drains tested. No defect was found in the
drainage arrangements of the school; but the closets, which are
stone latrines, were found very foul. Of course this was not
sufficent to account for the exceptional school incidence of Diphtheria.
I am consequently bound to fall back upon personal infection at
school, as the cause of the majority of the cases amongst the scholars
at the Daubeney Eoad Board School. On looking through the list,
there appears to be an almost unbroken series of cases at this school,
from the beginning to the end of the period treated of. Of course, it
is not possible to connect each case with a preceding one, neither is