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1899] 140
were well, or had been removed to hospital, and then not until
seven days had elapsed from the disinfection of the premises.
There were 829 cases notified to me by the teachers of the
Elementary Schools in which children were excluded from school
either because they were ill themselves or lived in homes wherein
an infectious disease was present.
Complaint must again be made as to the manner in which
these diseases, Measles, Whooping Cough, Chicken Pox, and Mumps,
are notified to the Medical Officer of Health.
Only a few days ago I received a list of over thirty children
who were ill or excluded from school because of illness at home
during a period extending over nearly a month. When I applied
for the dates on which the children had been first absent or
excluded, I discovered that the latest date was seven days prior
to the information being sent to me. In another instance some
ten days had elapsed. Many similar instances could be given, and
indeed reference has been made to them in some of my quarterly
reports. I trust that neglect of this kind will be rare in the future,
and that teachers will be prompt in sending information. It is
satisfactory to note that the School Board for London, on the
advice of their Medical Officer, have altered the wording of their
School Code, so that in future teachers cannot excuse themselves
on the plea that they did not think the code required them to notify
the cases of the non-notifiable deseases, Measles, Whooping Cough,
Chicken Pox, and Mumps, to the Medical Officers of Health. The
Public Health Committee may be congratulated on having effected
this very needful reform, for they on more than one occasion drew
attention to the neglect.
The alteration in the Code has been made with respect to the
first two paragraphs of Sec. III. of Article 148. It now reads as
follows : "(iii) The following infectious diseases are not dealt with
as notifiable by the Public Health (London) Act, 1891:—
Measles. Chicken Pox.
Mumps. Whooping Cough.
Any child showing symptoms of any of the above diseases, or any
child coming from a house where such a disease exists must be
sent home at once, and the Divisional Superintendant, the