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suffering from measles or hooping cough, or because there are children in
the same house suffering from those diseases.
Your obedient Servant,
FRANCIS STEVENS, Medical Officer of Health.
The matter was considered by the Committee, and a
recommendation made to the Vestry that this report be received
and the recommendation adopted. The matter was, however,
referred back for further consideration.
An amended report of the Committee was brought up
on October 5th with the recommendation that my report be
received, and that the County Council be informed that this
Vestry is not prepared to include measles under any of the
Sections relating to dangerous infectious diseases, and that the
School Board for London be requested to render universal the
order requiring teachers to send information to the Medical
Officer of Health relating to any children that they have
excluded, either because they are suffering from measles or
hooping cough, or because there are other children in the same
house suffering from these diseases.
The argument used in favour of the notification of
measles rested mainly on the wide prevalence and heavy
mortality from this disease. It will be seen on reference to the
Tables for this year that measles, chiefly on account of the
broncho-pneumonia that so frequently is a complication,
is responsible for a large number of deaths, much larger
indeed than any of the diseases which are properly notifiable.
This of course in itself is a point which makes it incumbent on
all those connected with the public health to carefully consider
as to whether any means can be devised for preventing this
mortality, and the readiest way that presents itself is the inclusion
of measles under the category of dangerous infectious
disease. As pointed out in my report, however, the advisability
of so doing is a vexed question, and it is most instructive in
this respect to consider a report made by the Medical Officer
of Health for the city of Newcastle-on-Tyne with reference to
an order of the Corporation made on August 26th, 1896,
declaring that until August 26th, 1898, measles and hooping
cough should be deemed infectious diseases within and subject