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Stockwell College (Mixed), St. Michael's (Halstead
Street), Stockwell Practising School (Infants), Stockwell
Road L.C.C. School (Classroom E), and Lyham Road L.C.C.
School (Infants), were also disinfected during 1909 in connection
with cases of measles.
Whooping Cough.
Whooping Cough is also a serious disease, especially to
young children. Of the 85 deaths registered in Lambeth
Borough during 1909 from this disease, 82 (i.e., 96.5 per
cent.) occurred in children under 5 years of age, and 44 of
the deaths (i.e., 51.8 per cent.) occurred amongst infants
under 1 year of age. It is, therefore, a disease of childhood,
and its prevention is being systematically attempted, chiefly
in the way of disinfection of Whooping Cough-infected
houses, exclusion from school of children (both infected and
from infected houses), and the educating of parents up to the
dangerous nature of the disease and the importance of careful
nursing of the patients when suffering from this complaint.
Unfortunately, Whooping Cough, like Measles, is, at
present, regarded as a harmless complaint of childhood, and
the ignorance displayed, and the apathy shown, in regard to
these diseases are well known to all who visit amongst the
poorer classes.
During 1909, in the Borough of Lambeth, disinfection has
been carried out in connection with 761 Whooping Coughinfected
houses, as compared with 319, 748, 455, 440. 380,
325, 110, 72 and 126 during 1908, 1907, 1906, 1905, 1904,
1903, 1902, 1901 and 1900 respectively; and leaflets (dealing
with the dangers and treatment of this disease) have been
left at all known Whooping Cough-infected houses.*
*Whooping Cough is not a compulsorily-notifiable disease, but 763
cases were voluntarily notified during 1909 by School Teachers (vide
Appendix).