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PUERPERAL FEVER.
During the year 11 notifications were received relating to 8
cases, and two deaths were registered. In each case enquiries
were made, and the nurses and midwives connected with these
cases were warned not to attend any other confinement for a
period of at least 14 days, and in each case the clothing of the
attendants was disinfected by the Council's staff.
MEASLES
Is not a compulsory notifiable disease under the provisions
of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, it is therefore impossible
to form a correct idea of the extent of an outbreak,
except by means of the death returns and school certificates.
Information was received during the year of 1,029 cases, and
the number of deaths registered was 73; of these, 72 were under
five years of age, 19 were under 12 months, equal to an annual
rate of per 1,000 persons living; that for England and
Wales was 0.36, for the 76 great towns 0.47, and for London as
a whole 0.49.
It is not sufficiently realized by the public that, if proper care
be not exercised, measles may be a very serious disease. It is
a disease which chiefly attacks children during the third,
fourth and fifth years of life, and most of the fatal cases are in
children under five years of age. The death roll in England
and Wales is annually in round numbers 13,000. It is
generally recognised that the spread of measles is closely
associated with school attendance, especially in the infants'
department. Dr. Kerr, Medical Officer to the London School
Board, in his report for the year 1902, states that from enquiries
made in certain schools, 75 per cent. of the children over five
years of age attending school had already had measles. There
is not much advantage derived from children under five years
of age attending school, and from the public health point of
view it would certainly be an advantage if children of this
tender age were excluded from school.