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under the present Public Health Act. It might, however, be
made voluntary, 2/6 being paid for the notification of each first
case in a house. But the great difficulty is the fact that probably
in the majority of cases of measles no doctor is called in.
35. The primary schools are the great means of spreading
the infection of Measles, and it is probably to the school
managers and teachers that we must mainly look for contending
with the spread of infection. The present School Board regulations
are excellent as far as they go, but they do not go far
enough. The teachers of the various schools act independently
and are neither in communication with each other nor with the
Medical Officer of Health. I have therefore proposed a school
notification of measles, viz.: that teachers should send me word
of any children they exclude from school on this account. If this
were done, I should know at once when measles was prevalent
among the children of any one school, and in special cases
should know in time when it was wise to recommend the
closure, say, of the infant department of a school, a proceeding
which I have no doubt, might at times greatly assist in staying
an epidemic. I should also be able, in cases where children
in one house attend two or more schools, to warn the teachers
of the other schools to exclude those children. The Health
Committee approved of my recommendation, and I found that
the great majority of the teachers would willingly co.operate
in the proposed plan. The Vestry has not yet, however,
authorized me to incur the small expense requisite for printing
notification forms, &c. I would again strongly urge that no
moderate expenditure should be allowed to weigh against the
health and lives of the children of the Parish.
Phthisis.
36. Phthisis, or consumption, caused 81 deaths, compared
with 111, 70, and 96 in the three preceding years In addition
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