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building was presented to the Council by Lady Henry and has been named the "Cyril Henry" treatment
centre in memory of her son who was killed in the war. 894 children have been operated upon
at the centre since its opening in June and the results have been most satisfactory. At a centre in
Stepney, a new method of treating discharging ears by ionisation has been carried out by Dr. Friel
and an analysis of the results is given on p. 68. The provision made for mastoid operations at
Cleveland-street has been continued and is referred to on p. 68.
A considerable increase in the provision for medical and dental treatment has been made.
The number of children who obtained treatment during the year at the hospitals and centres included
in the Council's arrangements was 197,700, as compared with 169,200 during the year 1919.
Re-inspections
The number of re-inspections carried out was 158,641, of which 93,985 were first re-inspections
and 64,656 were second re-inspections. The combined result of the first and second re-inspection gives
a figure 76.9 per cent. of cases satisfactorily dealt with after the lapse of fifteen months from the
primary inspections. This is the best result that has so far been obtained.
Personal
hygiene
Much attention has been devoted to the question of Personal Hygiene during the year. Hitherto
one of the main difficulties in connection with the Scheme has been the opposition of the parents of
those children, whose heads contained "nits only," to the cleansing being carried out at stations where
badly infested cases were also dealt with. In order to meet this objection the Council has decided
that differentiation should, where possible, be made by arranging that the slight cases shall be treated
at minor ailments centres thus removing them from the ordinary cleansing stations. Ten new stations
are to be established for this purpose, and incidentally they will provide much-needed facilities for
dealing with some 35,000 extra cases annually. Another objection on the part of the parents has been
the necessity for cutting the hair in some cases. The Council has, however, had brought to its notice a
special comb which, used in conjunction with a newly devised shampoo soap, has proved very efficacious
in removing nits without resorting to hair cutting. With the ten new centres and the improvements
in method now introduced, it is anticipated that the most serious objection on the part of the parents
will be removed and that it will be possible to secure their full sympathy and co-operation in this
very important work.
In February, 1921, a conference was held with representatives of the City and Metropolitan
Borough Councils with a view to discussing whether more effective co-ordination could not be established
between the Central and Local Authorities. It is anticipated that valuable results will be obtained from
this conference.
At the end of the year there were 24 cleansing stations in operation. In all, 822,337 examinations
of children were made; in 43,764 cases the children were found to be verminous, 16,355
children were cleansed by the parents, 27,409 children were cleansed at the cleansing stations, and
9,675 children suffering from scabies were also given baths. The total number of cleansings at the
stations was 123,975.
The experiments in Camberwell and Kensington of bathing children with the co-operation of
the Borough Councils at the Public Baths have been continued with most satisfactory results. Under
this scheme 6,978 baths were given in Camberwell and 6.434 in Kensington.
Epidemic
diseases
Those who ventured to make prophecies concerning the behaviour of influenza in 1920, shared
the common fate of all who thus attempt to look into the future in this regard. Time cannot wither
nor custom stale the infinite variety of this epidemic disease. According to the precedents of the
"nineties" the two prevalences of 1918 and the February-March prevalence of 1919, should have
been succeeded after an interval of at any rate not more than 18 months, by a further outbreak in 1920.
Dr. Brownlee applying the method of harmonic analysis, has deduced a 33 weeks periodicity for
influenza, but he says that when the appointed day falls between the end of June and December the
epidemic is apt to miss fire. It is true there was a notable recent exception to this rule, for the most
serious known prevalence of influenza, that of October-December, 1918, occurred well within the
prohibited period; Dr. Brownlee's close time for influenza was, however, duly observed in 1919. He
anticipated a further prevalence in February-March, 1920, and there were at that time "many colds
about," and some increase in encephalitis lethargica also occurred, but the effect of these prevalences
upon "influenza" mortality and upon the general death-rate was little marked. Towards the end
of the year 1920, "colds" and "gastro-intestinal influenza" again became widespread; in December
"epidemic hiccough," a form of disease which had made its appearance in Vienna in the preceding
winter, prevailed on a small scale in London and it was accompanied or quickly followed by the appearance
of encephalitis lethargica, which increased in prevalence in the early months of 1921. This sequence
of events might conceivably be hailed, both by those who rely upon the method of harmonic analysis,
and those who think there is something in the doctrines expounded by Hippocrates and Sydenham
concerning epidemic constitutions, as representing a development "according to plan." Fortunately
the net result for 1920 as a whole, was that there was no considerable addition to the death-rate
from the influenzal group of diseases among school children. A special report by Dr. Armstrong
on catarrhal sore throat or glandular fever will be found on p. 89.
The main epidemic visitations of the year were those of measles in March-April and of scarlet
fever and diphtheria in the autumn. Account is given of the former outbreak and of the special
preventive measures undertaken in connection with it on p. 90. With regard to scarlet fever a
major wave of the disease was due to appear. Fortunately the hospital provision available proved fairly
adequate to meet the demands made upon it. On p. 86 some notes are made concerning the behaviour
of the curve of flea prevalence during the year. The facts are first, that the maximum week of the
curve of seasonal flea prevalence antedates by a few weeks, as is its wont, the maximum week of
scarlet fever seasonal prevalence; and, second, that the statistics for 1920 render manifest for a wellnigh
completed cycle the rough correspondence between the decline and swell of the major multi-annual