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5
Scarlet Fever
Notifications respecting 113 cases of Scarlet Fever were received
during the year, only 1 terminating fatally, and this child was in a
comatose condition when removal to the Isolation Hospital was
requested.
80.5 per cent. of the patients were removed to the Isolation
Hospital for treatment, the remainder being nursed at home. Table
3 shows at a glance the age distribution of the whole of the infectious
diseases notified and the Wards in which they occurred and from
which they were removed to Hospital. The attack rate for this
disease was 2.4 per thousand of the population.
Of the 113 cases notified 63 attended school, viz:—Queen's Road,
12; Merton 9; Effra Road, 7; Dundonald, 7; Central, 6; Haydons
Road, 5; Holy Trinity, 4; Roman Catholic, 1, and Private Schools 12.
The type of the disease was very mild and in several instances
the parents were unaware that their children were suffering from
anything more than ordinary colds, owing to there being so little
constitutional disturbance. These mild cases are undoubtedly
frequent sources of infection to others by the very fact of their being
so slight and consequently less care taken, and probably Medical
Men not called in until a later stage of the illness is reached
Diphthena.
Fifty-eight cases of Diphtheria were notified during the year
against 8o for last year, representing an attack rate of i'2 per r,ooo
of the population against 1.8 for 1902.
There were four deaths, 3 of which took place at home and the
other at the Isolation Hospital where it had been removed after
tracheotomy had been performed. Of the three, two at the time
of notification were too ill to be removed and consequently the
operation of tracheotomy was carried out at home ; in the other fatal
case it was unknown to be Diphtheria until the post mortem examination
ordered by the coroner had been made.
See table three which shows the distribution of the whole of the
infectious diseases notified and the wards in which they occurred and
from which they were removed to Hospital.
Of the fifty-eight patients, 30 (51%) attended schools viz:—
Holy Trinity 7, Queens Road 6, Central 4, Haydon's Road 3, Roman
Catholic 2, Effra Road 1, Cottenham Park 1, and private schools 6.