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The disease was mainly prevalent among very young children, as while
455 children attending the infants' departments of the various Board Schools in
Fulham were reported by the teachers as absent owing to their having
Measles, only 39 were reported as so suffering in the girls' and boys' departments,
though, of course, a large number were excluded on account of the
existence of Measles in their homes, and from what I could gather the
disease appeared to have been very prevalent among children too young
to attend school before it showed itself to any extent among school children.
The infants' departments of all the Board Schools were more or less
affected, and that department of the Lillie Road School, and some of the
infant class-rooms of the Langford Road School were, by arrangement with
the Medical Officer of the School Board, closed for a short time, but in several
other Board Schools there was no marked prevalence of the disease until
about the second or third week of December, so that in view of the near
approach of the Christmas holidays it was not deemed necessary to close the
departments.
Among the factors which, in addition to the influence of the primary
schools, tend to spread the disease may be reckoned the carelessness and
ignorance of parents who make no attempt to prevent their children who are
suffering from the disease from associating with others, it being no uncommon
thing for children to be found attending school who are obviously suffering
from the disease. With a view of preventing this and of endeavouring
to bring home to parents the fact that Measles is a dangerous infectious
disease, the Vestry have requested the Local Government Board to
sanction the application to Measles, in addition to the other diseases
specified in the Act, of the provisions of Section 68 of the Public Health
(London) Act, 1891, which render a person liable to a penalty who,
" while suffering from any dangerous infectious disease, wilfully exposes
himself without proper precautions against spreading the disease, or being in
charge of any person so suffering, so exposes such sufferer."