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In Southfteld Road School, the "missed" cases, subsequently
detected, were more numerous. The first "missed" case that
occurred after the re-opening of the school after the summer
holidays, was notified on September 17th. The girl had been 111
since September 4th, and had attended school up to September 15th.
On October 12th a boy was excluded from school as the skin of
his hands was peeling. He had had a rash and a sore throat on
September 9th, but his doctor had certified that he could attend
school. It may have been a coincidence, but the exclusion of the
boy from school attendance was associated with the cessation of
cases from the class he attended.
On October 13th, two children were found in attendance, in
both of whom the skin of the body and hands was peeling. In one
case there was a history of sore throat and a rash on September
24th, and in the other on September 27th.
These 4 cases attended either the Infants or Junior Department.
It is also an interesting fact that the disease in Southfield Road was
practically limited to these departments.
It maybe assumed that the children in the Infants and Junior
Departments mix to some extent with those of the Senior
Department outside the school, but it seems as if the close aggregation
of children in class rooms (and in the homes, &c.) were a
necessary factor in an extensive spread of the disease. The
argument that the children in the Senior Department were less
susceptible and more protected is hardly a sufficient one. A girl in
the Priory School was notified of Scarlet Fever on December 3rd.
Two days previously she had a sore throat and was sick at school.
Four girls attending the same class, all over the age of 13 years,
developed Scarlet Fever within a few days. This case is given as
an instance that the age-distribution of the children in the Senior
Departments is not a sufficient protection against the spread of
infection.
A detailed account has been given of some of the "missed"
cases, as they play so important a role in the spread of the disease.
It is admitted that the "missed" case will always be a. problem
difficult of solution, as it depends partly upon the type of the disease,