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Ill
medical inspection in school, but a few also from private doctors
and the parents themselves.
The doctors are assisted in the clinics by a school nurse and a
social worker; the latter provides information about the social
background of the patients, visits the homes, and maintains contact
with the Education Welfare Service.
During the summer months there was a reduction in the
referrals of enuretic children.
During the year. 235 new cases were dealt with and the total
attendances numbered 1,557.
Tuberculosis—epidemiological investigations
Full epidemiological investigations were undertaken at three
schools in the Borough where cases of tuberculosis had been
notified in order to trace the source of infection and, equally
important, to exclude the possibility of other children or staff
having been infected.
At one school an 18-year-old boy was found to have active
pulmonary tuberculosis and in consequence the parents of his
375 fellow pupils were asked to co-operate in an investigation of
contacts as too were 39 members of staff. The parents of five boys
were unwilling to take part in the survey. Excellent co-operation
on the part of the staff, parents and pupils resulted in establishing
that there were no other cases of infection in the school. I wish
to thank Dr. Citron, Chest Physician of the Wandsworth Chest
Clinic for his help and advice.
At another school a teacher and a pupil were notified as suffering
from pulmonary tuberculosis within one month of each other,
which necessitated the investigation of 1,120 children and 60 staff.
Parental refusal excluded 85 children from the epidemiological
survey.
The Mass X-ray Unit had already visited the school and X-rayed
all the pupils who were close contacts (461), 41 teachers and 68
other staff when the notification of the infection in a teacher was
received. The original programme was therefore broadened to
include the whole school. No evidence of active pulmonary tuberculosis
was found among pupils or staff. I am indebted to Dr. De
Silva of the Battersea Chest Clinic and to the Mass X-ray Service
for their co-operation.
In the third case, a ten-year-old schoolgirl was referred to hospital
with tuberculosis lymphadenitis. It was not bacteriologically