[Report 1937] / Medical Officer of Health, Godalming Borough.

  • Godalming (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1937
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1937] / Medical Officer of Health, Godalming Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/44 (page 11)
    j'ruiu the (hhldt'ord Rural District. No demand was inade on account of any cases of measles or any other disease, except those ])reviously catered for. Tlie number of cases admitted during 1937 was very low and it is obvious that this year must be regarded as a, trough year, which occurs in a. period of years. The last year was in 1932, when there w^ere only 197 cases in hos])ital, and in 1931 there were 132. Previous to that, 1927 showed only 155 admissions. Scarlet Fever.—The disease was, on the whole, of a veiy mild nature and did not occasion any epidemics in any part of the district during? the year. In the majority of cases patients only had to be detained in hospital for the minimum period of four weeks, but four cases had otitis media. One mastoid operation was performed by Mr. »Jobson and was quite successful. There was no cross-infection of any kind during the year, which was extremely satisfactory. The routine ad- ministration of anti-toxin to each case was continued and I think that this procedure is justified by the very rapid lowering of temi)erature occasioned thereby and the rapid restitution of well-being to the patient which results. As practically no complications arose, with the exception of the few cases of otitis above-mentioned, no importance can be placed upon the effect of anti-toxin in this connection. There were, aM usual, a certain numbei* of cases' who developed a second attack of scarlet fever while in hospital, due as mentioned in previous reports, to infection by a different ty])d of scarlet fever from that one for which the child was admitted. This also was responsible for the occurrence of a few return cases on the return home of patients who seemed clinically i^erfectly fit in every respect. It seems reasonable to sup])ose that if an infection is going to run through a household it will do so with the occurrence of the first case. If this does not hap])en and infection of other members of the household occurs after the return from hospital of the first case, it would seem to indicate that the infection brought home was not the infection carried away. In other words, the child has im])lanted upon its throat germs of a different type of scarlet fever than the one with which he was originally