[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bromley Borough].

  • Bromley (London, England). Municipal Borough.
Date:
1906
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bromley Borough]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/48 (page 12)
    12 potent source of infection than the dead particles of shed skin. A discharge from the ear is known to be infectious, and latterly carious teeth have been suspected of harbouring the germs of the disease. Notwithstanding all the precautions which Dr. Shannon takes at our Isolation Hospital, we had two return cases in one family. It is interesting to note that our systematic enquiries in each case very rarely show the disease to have been carried indirectly by clothing or toy a second person. It should toe borne in mind that the Scarlet Fever poison may have in some people no other effect than to produce a slight sore throat, and this being unrecognised, but never theless infectious, may lead one to suppose that infection has been carried indirectly in the clothing or by the hands, whereas in fact it may be a case of direct infection. Two of our cases were clearly proved to have been contracted in this manner. In no instance was there reason to suspect that a medical man had carried the disease from one patient to another, although 16 cases were treated in their own homes. DIPHTHERIA. Average number of cases each year during the last 10 years, 1895-1904 = 24.5 cases. 74 cases were notified. 60 were removed to the Infec tious Hospital and the others were treated at home. All except six of the cases occurred in the homes of the working class.