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was a connection between school attendance and infection, as Measles
was introduced into the house by one of the children attending school.
This connection of school attendance and infection brings us to
a consideration of the preventive measures against Measles. Formerly,
it was the practice to exclude all the children of infected houses from
attending school, but in the boys' and girls' departments, the classes
arc protected to such an extent on account of the pupils having previously
suffered from the disease, that there was no fear of Measles
spreading in the higher standards.
An exhaustive enquiry has recently been made by Dr. C. J.
Thomas, for the London County Council, into the spread of Measles
among children attending the elementary Schools of Woolwich. He
found that " the disease tends to spread whenever a class accumulates
unprotected members to the extent of between 30 and 40 per cent., and
when spread has begun it continues until the proportion is reduced
to between 15 and 20 per cent. unprotected."
Acting upon this experience, the Education Committee of the
London County Council have adopted the following addition to their
Code of Instructions to Teachers:—
Children suffering from Measles must be excluded for at least
one month.
Children coming from houses where Measles exists, but who are
nor themselves suffering from the disease, should be dealt with as
follows:—
A child attending other than an infants' school who has had
Measles need not be excluded from attendance at school.
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 fourteen days from the occurrence of the
first case.
A child attending an infants' school, whether or not it has had
Measles, must be excluded from attendance at school until the Monday
following the expiration of fourteen days from the commencement of
the last case.
In the main, the above rules were carried out here, but there
was a lack of uniformity in the various schools, as to the conditions
under which a child was excluded from attendance.