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91
Midwives Acts, 1902 and 1918.
In connection with these Acts we received information from the Medical
Officer of Health of the London County Council with regard to the eyes of three
other infants, viz.:—
B. Slight inflammation of eyes; subsequently cured.
P.A. Slight inflammation of one eye; subsequently cured.
D. Slight inflammation of eyes; subsequently cured.
Whooping Cough.
Visits were paid to 55 persons suffering from whooping cough. Of these,
44 were notified by doctors; in 5 others the information was derived from the
schools; 2 from health visitors; 4 from the L.C.C.
Age.
Fourteen were children under 1 year, 31 were aged 1 to 5, and 10 were 5 to
16 years.
Deaths.
Three died; 2 were under 1 year, and 1 was 2 years old.
Spread of Infection in Family.
The 55 cases occurred in 44 families. In 36 families 1 case occurred; in
5 families 2 cases occurred, and in 3 families 3 cases occurred.
Removal.
Twenty-four children were removed to hospital, approximately 44 per cent.
All these were admitted to hospitals of the L.C.C.
Spread of Infection in Whooping Cough.
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." The continued advice
to parents to look upon a child suffering from whooping cough as a
serious menace to others has drawn their attention to the fact that this
disease is one which should be viewed with more concern than it is at present.
Parents frequently express the view that there is need to educate public opinion
in the dangers of whooping cough and the way in which it is caught.