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Dysentery. From time to time throughout the year cases
occurred in both boroughs but there were no explosive outbreaks in
the schools. A smouldering infection in a day nursery during
August had its repercussions amongst older siblings of the inmates,
but the general picture is indicated by the fall in recorded cases in
Tottenham from 251 in 1959 to 66 in the year under review.
Tuberculosis. In the year as a whole six new cases of
tuberculosis were notified in children of school age, one more than
the previous year; one child developed tubercular meningitis but the
remaining cases were due to pulmonary infections.
Two of these children attend schools outside this Area and the
source case of one of them was traced to his school in Wales. In
three of the four remaining cases an adult living in the same house
was found to be infected and appropriate action was taken. In the
sixth case, a girl of fourteen years, the pulmonary infection was
discovered as a result of a strongly positive reaction to routine Mantoux
testing. As no contact could be found in the household, in consultation
with the chest physician, an epidemiological survey was instituted.
Sixteen of her class mates were Mantoux tested and had chest X-rays,
all with satisfactory results; whilst the remainder of her class had
been dealt with previously as part of the normal B.C.G. programme
A similar investigation of her teachers revealed no source of infection
B.C.G. Vaccination. Throughout the year the B. C. G.
programme was steadily pursued and more than twice the number of
children were vaccinated compared with 1959. From the following
table it will be seen that for the first time students from two
technical colleges were brought into the scheme; an important
inovation bearing in mind the susceptibility of the adolescent to this
disease.
School
Children Students Totals
% % %
Parents approached 3455 306 3761
Parents accepting 2565 74.3 146 47.7 2711 72.1
Number tested 2487 131 2618
Mantoux positive 136 5.5 38 29.0 174 6.6
Mantoux negative 2242 90.1 91 69.5 2333 89.1
Failed-to attend for 109 4.4 2 1.5 111 4.3
reading
Vaccinated (% of 2122 61.4 90 29.4 2212 58.8
those approached)
78