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Halley Road, Strone Road, and South Esk Road. In these four
roads there have occurred sixty-one cases, but they are exceptionally
long roads, containing in all, over 1,000 houses, with a population
of over 6,000 inhabitants. These roads have been newly
made, and the houses recently built. The occupiers of these
houses are people removing principally from the overcrowded
parts of East London; the houses are occupied as soon as completed,
and before they are thoroughly dry, or the streets made
up These are conditions which lend themselves very considerably
to the spread of the disease.
Thirty-eight cases have been removed to Hospitals outside
the District.
Of the 320 cases notified, 28 have terminated fatally. In
every case the premises have been inspected, drains tested, and
general instructions given as to isolation, etc., day and Sunday
schools have been notified, and instructions given that no children
from infected houses should be admitted to school; disinfectants
have been supplied gratis, and houses fumigated at the termination
of the disease. Librarians and Pawnbrokers are kept
acquainted with the whole of the infected houses in the District.
The Council decided in February to distribute Diphtheritic
Serum, free on application, in all cases of Diphtheria occurring
within the District. Taking twelve months prior to the free distribution
of Antitoxin, there occurred within the District 229 cases,
resulting in 22 recorded deaths, being equal to 9.6 per cent. of
deaths. Since February 1899, the date that the free distribution
commenced, there have been notified 293 cases, resulting in 24
recorded deaths, being equal to 8.19 per cent. of deaths. It will
be observed that since the free distribution of Antitoxin, there has
been a decrease of 1.41 per cent. of deaths.
In consequence of the large number of cases occurring within