[Report 1928] / Medical Officer of Health, Stourbridge Borough.

  • Stourbridge (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1928
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1928] / Medical Officer of Health, Stourbridge Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/44 (page 21)
    v36 Girl 6 years. Infants Wollaston. 30th July. King Street. Others : brothers 11,8 and 2 ; sister 13 ; father and mother. Two bedrooms.. House recently partly redecorated (2 months). Sister 13, brother 11 had Diphtheria 7 years ago. (Swabs taken of others, negative). 37 Boy 9. Wollaston Boys. 30th July. King Street (next door but one to case No. 36). Child age 6 dead in house, cause Pneumonia. Other children, sisters 9 and 5. ; father and mother and grandmother. Three bedrooms. Child 5 had swab taken last week, negative, and another taken day of notifi¬ cation, which proved positive, although child is apparently quite well. Enquiries were made as to previous cases and excepting as mentioned in the notes of individual cases no history of previous cases in the houses was found. The Medical Practitioner in attendance of most of the cases in Wollaston took swabs of suspected contacts which proved negative. During July all contacts were swabbed and all were negative except in the case of a sister to case No. 37. I swabbed 50 persons and the Assistant County Medical Officer swabbed a considerable number of children at Wollaston School. All these, so far as I know, were negative. I have seen several other children in consultation with their own Medical Practitioners. In view of the fact that the Day Schools have broken up lor the Summer Holidays, I have suggested to the Heads of the two Sunday Schools in Wollaston that they should close while the Day Schools are closed. On July 20th, I was asked by a Medical Practitioner to see a child I.H. O. aged 6 years, attending the Infants Department of Wollaston School, who was said to have a slight follicular tonsillitis. On examination the child appeared quite well, but there was pus in one of the crypts on the left tonsil. The case was not con¬ sidered one of clinical Diphtheria, but a swab was taken which yielded on culture numerous Diphtheria Bacilli. The child was seen again on July 23rd, when she seemed quite well and the tonsils—although a little larger—were apparently normal. A second swab was taken and on culture again yielded Diphtheria Bacilli. The child was examined a third time on July 27th and a further swab was taken : this again yielded positive results. The child has been isolated at home since first seen and treated by her own doctor. She is still under my observation. Treatment. All cases excepting Nos. 1, 5, 6 and 21 were removed to the Isolation Hospital. Anti-toxin is supplied free to Medical Practitioners. Disinfection. Rooms were fumigated. Clothing disinfected in apparatus. li>isinfectant fluid supplied free for cleaning purposes to anyone. Deaths. Three patients died, viz. ;—Nos. 8 and 22, both being children under school age, and No. 27 attending Infants Department of Wollaston School. Milk Supplies. Milk supplies came from 15 retailers ; in only two Cases was the milk supply sterilized or condensed. Two samples from the retailers supplying milk to most of the houses where cases occurred were submitted for bacteriological analyses and proved negative. Defects at Houses. No defect was found at any house which might be considered as having any bearing on the infection. The defects found were either remedied at once or are in hand. All the houses have water closets and most have portable receptacles for house refuse, which are cleared weekly.