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41
While in accord with the view expressed in the Council's Resolution, with
regard to a bacteriological examination in the circumstances as stated, the
Sanitary Committee accepted your Medical Officer's recommendation, that in
cases where the parents were unable to obtain the necessary certificates from
their own Doctor, they should be directed to apply to the Medical Officer of
the Education Department.
The Committee's view of the matter having been communicated to the
London County Council, the latter undertook that their Medical Officer would
furnish bacteriological reports on specimens submitted to them when necessary.
CLEANSING AND DISINFECTION OF SCHOOLS.
With the object of preventing the occurrence of cases of infectious diseases
of all kinds among school children, it would be well if all class-rooms, and
school books were periodically disinfected as a matter of routine. A case is
reported from America when, after the disinfection of upwards of 100,000
books used in the Public Schools of Buffalo, it was noticed that there had
been a decrease in contagious diseases, particularly Scarlet Fever and Measles.
With regard to the disinfection of school-rooms, the Committee on Disinfection
of the American Health Association, in the review of the work of the year 1904,
state that remarkable results have followed the occasional use of a suitable
disinfectant on the floors of school-houses, and that infectious cold and other
dust-borne diseases were thereby much lessened among the scholars.
The Scotch Education Department issued a Memorandum in November,
1907, giving full instructions as to the most efficient way of cleansing and
disinfecting schools, and articles used in the course of instruction.
The directions given, were prepared by the expert advisers of the Local
Government Board for Scotland. They are based upon actual experience, and
take full account of practical difficulties.
Great stress is laid upon the importance of periodical cleansing, and
disinfection of schoolrooms, and to the dangers arising from dusty atmosphere,
dust being one of the factors in the dissimination of infectious disease. It is
for this reason therefore, that periodic disinfection is advisable, even when no
known infectious disease has been present.
The memorandum deals fully with the following points :—
i. The sources of dirt in schools, and the danger attending it.
ii. The general principles of cleansing and disinfection wherein moist
cleansing of floors, walls &c., is strongly advocated. Full specific
directions are also given how best to disinfect schoolrooms and school
appliances.