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39
In the month of March, a Conference of Medical
Officers was called by Dr. Newsholme; the meeting
was held at the Offices of the Local Government Board,
and was attended by nearly every Health Officer in
London. Mr. John Burns took part in the discussion
and was evidently deeply interested. The sense of the
meeting was ultimately taken, and the following
conclusions were arrived at:—
1. Measles should be made notifiable to the
extent of the first case in a family, no second
notification being required within 30 days of the
first, as the family could be kept under observation.
2. The number of beds available for Measles
in the Metropolis should be increased from 1,000
as at present to at least 2,500.
3. All Health Officers are urged to impress
upon their Inspectors the importance of circulating
knowledge as to the gravity of the disease, and
its frequent fatal results, and the necessity of
implicit obedience to the instructions of the
medical attendant.
4. Children under five years of age should
not be allowed to attend school during the present
epidemic; moreover the opinion was strongly held
that school attendance at this tender age was at
all times inadvisable.
5. That Sunday schools and private schools
should be treated on the same lines as public
elementary schools already are, as to notification.