London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of Westminster 1909
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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65
who determines the precautionary measures desirable in view of the
proportion of susceptible children in the room. School closure in
outbreaks of measles is undertaken solely as a preventive measure,
since it has been proved to be futile to take this step when once
measles is established in a school; it is therefore carried out only 011
the first appearance of the disease in a class-room. Even when carried
out successfully, closure in London only postpones an attack for a few
months, and is of little value, except when applied to babies' rooms.
The adoption of this method has resulted in a great saving in school
attendance.
The Infant Departments of St. Michael's, Ebury Street, St. Peter's,
Lower Belgrave Street, St. Martin's, Adelaide Place, and Pulteney
Schools were closed for short periods on account of measles.
A copy of each notification of fever, diphtheria, &c., received from medical men is sent to the head teacher of the school attended by the patient (if a child), or by any child who is an inmate of the same house as the patient. In this way 727 notifications were sent out during 1909 to school teachers as follows:—
| School. | Small Pox. | Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Enteric Fever. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charing Cross Road | - | 3 | - | - |
| Horseferry Road | — | 9 | 5 | — |
| Buckingham Grate | — | 5 | — | — |
| Pulteney | — | 12 | 2 | — |
| St. Greorge's Row | — | 26 | 1 | — |
| Millbank | - | 37 | 11 | — |
| Wild Street | — | 5 | — | — |
| Brompton Higher Grrade | — | 1 | — | — |
| Christ Church | — | 2 | — | |
| Curzon | — | 2 | — | — |
| French Protestant.. | — | — | — | — |
| Holy Trinity | — | 7 | 21 | — |
| St. Anne's | — | 11 | 2 | — |
| St. Anselms | — | 11 | 2 | — |
| St. Barnabas | — | 7 | — | — |
| St. Clement Danes | — | 1 | 1 | — |
| St. Edward's, Dufour's Place | — | 1 | 1 | — |
| St. Gabriel's | — | 22 | 8 | — |
| St. Greorge's, South Street | — | 4 | 2 | — |
| St. James the Less | — | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| St. Margaret's | — | 5 | 2 | — |
| St. Martin's, Adelaide Place | — | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| St. Martin's, Castle Street | — | — | 2 | — |
| St. Mary's, 48, Great Peter Street | — | 7 | 5 | — |
| St. Mary's, Hide Place | — | 9 | — | — |
| St. Matthew's | — | 9 | — | — |
| St. Michael's | — | 4 | 7 | — |
| St. Paul s, Caroline Street | — | — | — | — |
| St. Paul's, Wilton Place | — | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| St. Peter's, Lower Belgrave Street | — | 9 | 5 | — |
| St. Peter's and St. James's | — | 10 | 1 | — |
| St. Stephen's | — | 20 | 2 | — |
| Wesleyan Training College | - | 6 | 1 | - |