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On the 17th December, 1902, tlie Borough Council approved and adopted the
following recommendation—"That in laundries, the examining, sorting or
marking of dirty linen he prohibited under the Factory and Workshops Acts,
until after it has been effectually disinfected by boiling and washing in strong
soap and water, or by some other equally effectual means." This course was
found necessary on account of the frequency with which laundry workers
becamc infected with small-pox from persons who were suffering from unrecognised,
mild, and apparently undisturbing attacks of the disease, especially those
who had been vaccinated in infancy. It is already a punishable offence to transmit
infected clothing to laundries, but the difficulty is to know when it is infected.
It is by the missed, unrecognised, and undiagnosed cases that infectious disease
is mostly spread, and the only way in which the infected linen of such cases
can be rendered harmless is by the method approved by the Borough Council.
MEASLES.
In March, 190G, the London County Council adopted the undermentioned
regulations for the exclusion from school of children suffering from measles, or
coining from houses where measles exists, this procedure superseding the
existing regulation Sub-section V. of ISection C. of Article III. of the School
o O
Management Code :—
Children suffering from measles must be excluded for at least one month.
Children coming from houses where measles exists, but who are not themselves
suffering from the disease should be dealt with as follows:—
(i.) A child attending other than an infants' school who has had measles
need not be excluded from attendance at school.
(ii.) A child attending other than an infants' school who has not had measles
must be excluded from attendance at school until the Monday following
the expiration of 14 days from the occurrence of the first case.
(iii.) A child attending an infants' school, whether or not it lias had measles,
must be excluded from attendance at school until the Monday following
the expiration of 14 days from the occurrence of the last case."
cerejbro-spinal fever.
The Local Government Board, on 24t'n August, 1905, addressed a circular
letter to Sanitary Authorities with reference to this disease, in which it is.
stated that, so far as they have been able to ascertain, there is no ground for
apprehension that the disease may have newly extended to this country; it
having recently been somewhat extensively prevalent in Central Europe and
in America. Nevertheless they consider that Sanitary Authorities should be
on the alert to detect the presence of the disease in their districts, and the
Board have issued a memorandum, prepared by their Medical Officer, dealing
with the characteristic symptoms of the disease. The Board describe the steps
it would be desirable to take in the event of the discovery in any district of
cases of illness which might possibly be of the nature of cerebro-spinal fever,
and state that in such an event they would be prepared to render the Sanitary
Authority such advice or assistance as might appear to be necessary, and in
the event of the Sanitary Authority desiring that the disease should be made
compulsorilv notifiable in their district, the Board would be prepared to
consider an application for their approval to a resolution o! the Authority for
a temporary extension of the provisions of law to the disease.