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113
Spread of Infection.
There is much difficulty in getting parents to realise that the child of preschool
age must be sheltered from the risk of infection as much as the child
attending school. Parents realise that the school child is a potential focus of
infection for many other children, and should be guarded from infection; they fail
to realise that the pre-school child, although less likely to spread the disease, is
less able to resist the dangers of an attack; many parents state candidly that they
send children with whooping cough into the squares and streets during school
hours, when "there are no other children about."
Measles Control in Schools.
In view of the biennial epidemic of measles which was expected at the end
of the year 1927, arrangements were made by the London County Council to speed
up the machinery for securing through the School Organisation, earlier information
of cases of measles. The need for improving the procedure was given impetus by
the decision of the Metropolitan Asylums Board to allocate in their infectious
diseases hospitals a greater proportion of beds for measles than for scarlet fever.
The primary object of any scheme of notification of measles, whether compulsory
or voluntary, is to obtain the co-operation of parents. In this connection advice
leaflets to parents were prepared for distribution through the School Organisation
and arrangements were made for the head teachers to facilitate this distribution
so that the leaflets should reach every family represented in a school where
measles was reported to have occurred in the family of any of the pupils.
Arrangements were made for Health Visitors to follow up cases of measles notified
from the schools; provision was continued for nursing assistance in the homes
where necessary and efforts were made to secure removal of patients to hospitals
of the Metropolitan Asylums Board. The arrangement also included provision
for the notification by the Medical Officer of Health to the head teachers of the
various schools of cases of measles occurring in houses occupied bv children
attending the schools which were discovered by the Health Visitors, apart from
the' notifications received from the School Organisation.
Tn the latter part of 1927 and the early part of 1928 the scheme was applied
to nine schools in the Borough.
German Measles.
During the year information was received relating to 4 cases; information of
1 case was received from the M.A.B., the other 3 cases occurred in the same
family and information was given by the mother.
Ages.
2 were between 1 and 5 years.
1 was between 5 and 16 years.
1 was an adult.
Contacts.
The number of contacts was 5 of whom 3 were susceptible, 2 already having
suffered from an attack; 1 had nc contacts.
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