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7
when three children were seized with the disease I
discovered that one of the children had assisted
home a little friend who was taken ill in the streets
with what proved to be diphtheria, and a day or
two later the former child developed the disease,
and its two sisters immediately followed suit.
Several of the cases were undoubtedly infected
outside this district. One arrived ill from Liverpool.
The plan of keeping a supply of antitoxin
at the Council offices is much appreciated by the
medical practitioners, and I am glad to report that
they show an increasing desire to avail themselves
of the advantages of free bacteriological examinations
offered by the Council.
Disinfection of Rooms and Schools is
carried out by spraying Formaldehyde on the
walls and bulky articles of furniture, etc., and the
destruction of clothing and bedding when
necessary. This is done under the immediate
supervision of the Sanitary Inspector. But it
cannot be pretended that for the efficient disinfection
of bedding, clothes, books, and toys this
method is as reliable as that by steam. Unfortunately
the steam apparatus at the Isolation
Hospital is useless for cases outside the Hospital,
as pointed out in my last Report. As efficient
disinfection is as important as isolation, as a
necessary consequence I would suggest that a