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Eleven of the 470 cases of scarlet fever were patients in the
same family as a person who had, within the previous 28 days,
returned from hospital after having been treated for this disease.
Cases of this kind are called "return" cases, and careful
investigation is made in these cases with a view to ascertaining
whether there is any direct evidence that infection has been conveyed
by the discharged patient. No such evidence could be obtained in
regard to the 11 "return" cases.

The deaths from scarlet fever during 1931 numbered 5, which
is equal to a case mortality of 1.06 per cent. attacked, and a deathrate
of 0.023 per 1,000 inhabitants. The mortality rate for London
from scarlet fever during the year was 0.02 per 1,000 inhabitants.
Diphtheria.—There were 404 cases of diphtheria notified
during the year. Forty-eight of the patients notified were found,
after admission to hospital, not to be suffering from an infectious
disease. The actual number of cases occurring in the Borough
during the year was, therefore, 356. This is a decrease of 313 upon
the actual number of cases that occurred in 1930. The attack-rate
was 1.64 per 1,000 persons living, compared with 1.27 for England
and Wales.
There were 353 cases removed to hospital during the year.
This is equal to 99.1 per cent. of the total number of notifications
of this disease received.
The following table shows the distribution of diphtheria in the
Electoral Wards and Registration Sub-districts of the Borough