19. Dr. VERNON DAVIESasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of cases of anthrax in this country for the last three years for which statistics are available, and the origin of infection in each case?
§ Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKSI can give only the figures for cases reported from premises under the Factory Acts. The information can best be shown in tabular form, and with my hon. Friend's permission I will circulate a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the table:
| Reported Cases of Anthrax in Factories and other premises under the Factory and Workshop Acts, in the years 1925 to 1927. | ||||||
| Origin of the Infection. | 1925. | 1926. | 1927. | Total. | ||
| Wool and Hair (other than Horsehair) | … | … | 265 | 162 | 181 | 608 |
| Horsehair or Bristles | … | … | 32 | 81 | 31 | 144 |
| Hides and Skins | … | … | 183 | 151 | 131 | 465 |
| Other* | … | … | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Total | … | … | 4810 | 424 | 353 | 12517 |
§ The principal figures give the number of cases; the small figures give the number of deaths.
| * The suspected materials in these cases were:— | |||||
| Feathers | … | … | … | … | 1 |
| Bones | … | … | … | … | 1 |
| Felt or tanned leather | … | … | … | … | 1 |
| Refuse from animal products | … | … | … | … | 1 |
| Not ascertained | … | … | … | … | 1 |
| 5 |