INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 41, 12 November 1919, Page 6

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

SCARLET FEVER AT BOARDING SCHOOL. For tho week ended November 10, 68 eases of infectious disease wero reported in the Wellington Public Health district, an increase of one compared with the previous week. The figures aro ns follow, tlie details for the previous week being given in parentheses:—Scarlet lover, 11 (2); diphtheria, 35 (22); entwic fever, 1 (5); influenza, 13 (22) j nioasles, 1 (J); pneumonia, i (6). The previous return also included four caUes of tuberculosis and two of cerebrospinal meningitis. The thirteen influenza cases occurred in the following hospital districts:—Wairoa, 2; Hawera, 3; Wanganui, 5; Palmerslon North, 1; and Wellington, 2. There was one pneumonic case at Marton, and another at Palmerston North, all the rest being mild. Notifications of diphtheria were received from the following districts:—Cook, 1;' Hawkc's B*v, 2j Taranaki, 3; Stratford, 4; Hawera, 1; Wanganui, 2; Palmcrston North, i; Wellington, 5; Nelson, 7; and Wairarapa, 3. Of the scarlet fever cases 12 were reported from Wellington (Day's Bay) and two from Wanganui. Dr. 1. 15. Paris, of the district office of the Public Health Department, intermed a Dominion reporter yesterday that the twelve scarlet i'evor cases a"t Day's Day broke out in the Croydon, Boy's Boarding School. There had beeri several other cases among residents of tho Bay, but it had not been possible to trace the source of the trouble. Everything connected with the sanitation of the school was ; satisfactory. "The pupils live under ideal. conditions," remarked Dr. Paris, "and everything is in order. It is simply one of thoso instances where you cannot say how the infection came in." Dr. Faris added that the patients had all been removed to hospital, and were doing woll, several of the cases being of a mild nature. The remainder of the pupils at the school were being watched very closely fos; any spread of the disease.

On it being pointed out that there was an increase of 13 in the number of diplitheria cases compared with tho previous week, Dr. Fans said the highest notifications wore received from the Nelson district. "The increase is a general one, and there is no need for any alarm," 6aid Dr. Faris. "It is not an undue increase for the size of tho AVollington Public Health district, tho population of which is about 400,000."