London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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London County Council 1904

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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54
became necessary. On November 9th, unfortunately, the boys of Classes II. and I. had a lesson
together, with the result that on November 21st and 22nd 2 secondary cases came down in Class I.
Here, as only a very few children were unprotected, the plan of excluding only those reported not
to have had measles was tried, and this worked well, for amongst the dozen children excluded 3
failed at the appropriate period, while the 54 allowed to continue in attendance, and who were
reported to have already had measles, remained well.
By dint of exercising great care in making the babies assemble at a separate entrance door and
go out to play at separate times, it was actually kept out of this, by far the most susceptible class,
for six weeks. About November 8th the babies, however, began to fail, not through school infection
but because the whole district was now thoroughly infected, as may be seen from a glance at the
diagram, in which is shown the incidence at the neighbouring Ancona-road school.
Ancona Road School.—The outbreak here followed on the general infection of the
neighbourhood from the Slade. It commenced about the same time as the babies' class at
the latter school, and the diagram shews the diffused chart which is characteristic of a general
infection of a locality in which the school crops are secondary features, although they are still to
be made out.
The babies' class at the Slade (diagram XX.) also shews the sort of chart which is characteristic
of locality infection and not school infection.
The Ancona Road diagram shews how the most ill-protected classes, VIa, VIb and V. suffered
most severely. The better protected classes, Standard I. (a) and (b) suffered more lightly. Here
again only the unprotected children were excluded, and no cases occurred amongst the 95 allowed
to remain in attendance, while well protected classes like Standard II. (a) and (b) escaped
altogether diagram XXI.).
Timbercroft Eoad School—This is a temporary building not far from the Slade and Ancona-road
Schools. The Infants' department consisted of two classes only. A case occurred in each on November
18th, but only the case occurring in Class I. was reported at the time, the other being missed. In
spite of early closure the first crop here partook of the nature of an explosion and practically
every child capable of getting the disease took it at the very first opportunity; 56 out of 65 reported
not to have had measles were ascertained to have suffered.
Timbercroft Road was no exception to the rule that temporary buildings are invariably illventilated
and overcrowded, and the outburst, depicted in diagram XXII., see (page 55), shews how
much unhygienic school conditions contribute to the spread of disease amongst children.
Plum-lane School.—At this school the small outbreak that took place in November and
December was part of the sum total of measles in the neighbourhood set up by the child from
the Guardians' Home in the Slade school, and occurred during the same period that the babies at
the Slade and the lower classes at Ancona-road were affected. It began in the babies' class, and
two successive crops exhausted the material here, which only made up 13 unprotected cases; it
spread also to Classes III. and IV., but by care and watchfulness on the part of the head mistress