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adults is small, and this gives confirmation to the statement
that Scarlet Fever is not a disease of adult life; and this, not
because it has been had 'in childhood, as the greater number
of children escape it. In this fact lies the strongest inducement
to persevere in the efforts which have been made by isolation,
and otherwise to diminish the spread of the disease,
for it is not necessary to have it in childhood, and childhood
escaped, the risk of having it at all is greatly diminished, every
year of life giving increased immunity.
An outbreak occurred among the scholars of the Central
Schools in the Autumn, when I considered it would be desirable
that those schools should be closed for a period, and
disinfected, but a sudden decrease in the cases caused me to
change my mind, and the removal from the school of a boy
who was discovered to be peeling had the effect of stopping
the further spread of the disease.
It was found necessary to provide additional Hospital
accommodation in the form of a Hospital Marquee, capable of
accommodating 16 patients, as previous to the erection of the
Marquee several cases of Scarlet Fever were refused admission,
as the Iron Hospital was full.
The parents of many of the children who were attacked
have not exercised sufficient care in calling in medical aid, and
so desquamation has begun, and the disease spread before the
case had been discovered and isolated.
The Masters and Mistresses of the schools have been
notified whenever a case has occurred among their scholars, and
the other children in the houses in which the cases have
occurred have been kept away from school. Compensation was
given to Laundresses whose businesses were stopped on
account of fever occuring in their houses.
Diphtheria.
Forty-one cases were notified during the year, and six
deaths registered, against thirty cases in the preceding year,
and three deaths. A great many of these cases were imported
from other districts, and three cases were notified from