View report page

50
1896]
"Measles," the Registrar-General says in his annual summary,
"was the certified cause of 3,697 deaths in London during the year,
these deaths being equal to a rate of 0.82" (almost identical with that
of Islington)"as compared with 0.61, the decennial average rate. It
appears to have been more fatal last year than in any year on record,
with the single exception of the year 1864."
Naturally, as the disease was so prevalent, particularly in districts
surrounding the Parish, an effort was made to obtain early information
of its presence. The method attempted, and how it was thwarted by
the extraordinary action of the School Board for London, was described
in the return of the Medical Officer for the first quarter of the year, and
it is now reprinted:—
Every possible means was adopted to stay its spread, hut as the disease
is not a notifiable one, information was very generally only obtained as to
its presence in a house when a death had occurred. In such instances it
was usually found that other children living in the same house had been
attending school during the period of the patient's illness. Indeed, in
several cases they had been found in attendance even when he lay dead in
the house. Under such circumstances it is very difficult for a Public Health
Authority or its Medical Officer to prevent its spread. This difficulty was
greatly enhanced by the conduct of the London School Board, who, in my
opinion, adopted a line of conduct which is impossible to understand, and
which cannot be defended, especially when it is recollected that everything
that was done was equally in the interest of the schools and the public.
Before writing further on this matter I should say that as there was
no compulsory notification of the disease, I made arrangements with the
several District Registrars to forward me immediate intelligence of the
registration of every death from the disease; and by utilizing this information
I was undoubtedly enabled to effect a considerable amount of good.
I also issued, with the full approval of the Public Health Committee,
the subjoined circular (p. 52) to the teachers of all schools, public and
private, in the Parish; in addition to which I saw several of the head
teachers of the Board Schools, and arranged with them to forward me
information as to cases of Measles which came to their knowledge. I did
this in order that it might not become necessary to close the schools if the
epidemic should grow to large dimensions.