View report page

9
Notes on the Outbreak.— Eleven cases were notified on
desquamation. Two cases showed no desquamation. Two
cases had recently had Scarlet Fever. One case had been
recently exposed to Scarlet Fever and had not then contracted
it. In one house full of boarders from a large school, only
one case occurred, although all partook of the same milk, and
as far as I know, none were protected by a previous attack.
In many cases mild sore throats were noted in other members
of the family.
Fifteen cases were sent to Hampton Hospital. On the
return of one of these, four cases occurred in the house, and
these in addition were sent to Hampton Hospital. Seven
cases were sent privately to the London Fever Hospital and
six cases were sent to the Wardell Convalescent Home. Ten
cases may be considered as secondary, that is, contracted
from original cases under treatment at home. There were
five fatal cases. One case, secondary in origin, died in
hospital. The certificates of the other fatal cases give
Pericarditis (old standing), Laryngeal obstruction (Hoffman's
bacillus), Pneumonia, Cardiac failure, as secondary causes of
death.
The cases were generally mild in character, but a considerable
number were complicated with Nephritis as a
secondary complaint. The majority of cases occurred in the
better class houses amongst persons who can afford to drink
large quantities of milk; those in the poorer houses appearing
somewhat later in the outbreak. The disease has continued
in the town up to this date, (August 4th), and I fancy some of
the cases may be due to secondary infection, though not
traced, as the character of the epidemic shows greater
infectivity than is usual in recent milk outbreaks of Scarlet
Fever. Mildness of attack with lengthened infectivity seem
to be the prevalent characteristics of the outbreak. The
throat symptoms seem to have been comparatively severe
considering the mildness of the attacks generally. Gastrointestinal
symptoms not specially marked. Peeling early in
most cases. Very few cases of nose or ear discharges reported.
In one of the early cases notification was delayed, as
the disease was supposed to be a teething rash. Several
patients only drank milk in tea—one of these a young baby.