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159
THE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF HACKNEY.
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 most 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.
If parents and guardians would bear these facts in mind, and
in all cases of measles take such precautions as are here suggested