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At the end of the year a small outbreak occurred in another school
in the Borough and it was similarly found that the flushing apparatus
in the seven water closet apartments allocated to the girls in the infants'
school was unsatisfactory Once more arrangements were made for
disinfection of all the toilet accommodation twice daily and additional
attention paid to personal hygiene and the outbreak was very soon
under control
Although patients suffering from sonne dysentery may be "ill" for
only a few days, the organism can be quite persistent and, therefore,
the patient may infect others for a considerable time; in some cases
children have lost as much as four weeks schooling before they were
found to be free from the infection
The methods adopted to attempt to control the spread of dysentery
have varied at different periods according to information about the
epidemiology of the disease and the existing legislation
The methods in current use in Hornsey are summarised below
Cases and contacts are considered separately:—
Cases
Adults
1 School Meals Scrvice Staff are excluded from work until three consecutive
negative specimens of faeces are obtained
2 Other food handlers and persons working with young children (eg
Day Nursery or Nursery Classes) ;:re excluded from work until a
negative specimen is obtained Employers of food handlers arc
advised to transfer the patients to work not involving food handling
or if this is not possible to exclude them from work until one negative
specimen is obtained Observation is continued until three consecutive
negative specimens are obtained National Insurance sickness
benefit is payable to all persons kept away from work as suspected cases
of dysentery or food poisoning or as contacts of cases, on production
of a certificate from the Medical Officer of Health
3 Other adults—no action
Children
Children attending nursery classes are excluded until three consecutivc
negatives are obtained
Child; en over 5 years of age are excluded until one negative specimen
is received but if a large number of cases is reported at a school, three
consecutive negative specimens are required before the children arc
allowed to return
Faeces specimens are not collected until forty-eight hours after completion
of a course of treatment
Contacts
Adults
1 School Meals Service Staff are excluded until three consecutive
negative specimens are obtained
2 Other food handlers and persons working with young children are
not excluded but if they submit positive faeces specimens they are
dealt with as if they are cases
3 No action is taken for other adult contacts
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