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55
PREVENTION OF MEASLES.
Measles is a highly infectious fever, occurring chiefly amongst
children, especially those under five years of age, and is equally
common in both sexes.
Although regarded of trifling importance by parents, it causes more
deaths than scarlet fever or diphtheria. In London alone it causes
nearly 3,000 deaths every year, and in Hackney more than 100
deaths. In addition it leaves many children much weakened in
health or even injured for life.
The disease is dangerous to very young children, and especially to
those in the second year of life; so that, if by any means the attack
only is delayed until the age of four or five years is reached, there
would be a large saving of life.
One difficulty in preventing the spread of measles is the fact that
a child may be ill two or three days with the early symptoms before
the rash appears which proves the nature of the disease; and during
this time the sick child is extremely infectious, and may infect other
children; but this difficulty may be greatly overcome by parents and
guardians acquainting themselves with the early signs of measles,
thus enabling them to isolate any sick child at an early period of the
disease.
Another difficulty is that the public generally believe that Measles
is a mild and harmless disease which children must take, and the
earlier they take it the better; whereas, on the contrary, measles is
a dangerous disease, and the later in life it is taken the less serious
it is likely to be.
The danger attaching to measles is mostly due to serious complications
which frequently arise during the course of the disease, owing
to want of proper medical treatment and to careless exposure to
cold.