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8
Owing to an outbreak of Scarlet Fever amongst the scholars
attending the girls' and infants' departments of the Haydon's Road
schools, and in order to stay the spread, I advised the closing of the
school, which was done from October 3rd to the 13th, and during
this time the whole of the class rooms and apparatus used in them
was disinfected. On several occasions children were found in
attendance at schools in the peeling or desquamation stage of the
disease, and in consequence Queen's Road and Dundonald schools
were disinfected, the former on two different occasions.
Diphtheria.— Fifty-five cases were notified, which is represented
by an attack rate of 1.1 against 39 last year, and a rate
of .8, the average rate for the past ten years being 12.
In Table C on page 5 will be found the death-rate yearly for
the past ten years. Thirty patients were removed to hospital, which
is 54 per cent, of the total number notified, and of the nine deaths
three took place in the hospital. Twenty-one were of school age
attending the following schools:— Central, 8; Haydon's Road
Girls, 2; Roman Catholic, 2; Effra Road, 1; Holy Trinity, 3;
Private, 5.
At nine houses more or less serious defects were found in the
drainage systems, and notices served requiring their amendment were
complied with.
For some years it has been recognised that when Diphtheria is
prevalent, a condition of the throat which used to be considered an
ordinary sore throat is likeiy to be really a diphtheritic sore throat,
and, when a swabbing is taken and a bacteriological examination
made, found to contain the Klebs Loeffler Bacillus, the particular
organism generally held to be the cause of Diphtheria; and, that
this is also the case with the throats of apparently healthy children
who have been in contact with others suffering from Diphtheria, and
may be the carriers of the disease to other children, although not
appearing to be affected themselves. Notable examples of this
occurred at the Central Schools early in November. Several children
attending these schools were notified between the 6th and 10th, and
enquiries show that one child who was away from school for several
days with what was thought to be a simple cold and sore throat,
returned to school apparently well on November 1st, when within
a few days four other children in the same class room were notified