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113
German Measles.
During the year information was received of seven cases of German measles. One was an
adult; six were children under 5 years, one being under one year. The number of contacts
was twenty-two, eleven of whom were susceptible; two of the seven patients had no contacts.
No second case of the disease occurred in any family. One case (adult) was removed to the
London Fever Hospital.
Epidemic Diarrhæa.
The disease is notifiable in only a few districts in London, and is not notifiable
in Holborn. The number of deaths of young children under two years of age
classified under the head, Diarrhoea and Enteritis, was 6, all of whom were under
1 year. The deaths were equal to a rate of 12-6 per 1,000 births in comparison with
10-2 for all London. The methods used to deal with the disease have been
detailed in a previous report; the most important perhaps is that during the third
quarter of the year extra visits are paid to those homes in which epidemic diarrhoea
is more likely to occur.
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."
Nursing Arrangements.
The services of the nurses were used as follows in 1928: —
Deficient Lactation 23 Cases 262 Visits.
Complications after Pregnancy 5 ,, 139 ,,
Measles 15 149 „
Whooping Cough 4 ,, 53 ,,
Ophthalmia Neonatorum 6 ,, 75 ,,
Pneumonia 9 ,, 266 ,,
Influenza 1 Case 11 ,,
Tuberculosis 7 Cases 326 ,,
Puerperal Fever or Pyrexia 2 ,, 43 ,,
Total 72 Cases 1,324 Visits.
H