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20
No secondary cases occurred.
The next case occurred in the Priory School. A child was
excluded from Class VII of the Infants Department on
November 9th. The child only sickened on that day and the
rash did not appear until the following day. The children were
kept under observation, and no further cases occurred in that
class. A case occurred, though, in Class IV, and though the
infection could not be definitely traced to the previous case in
the department, it is probable that there was no other source of
infection.
The boy attending Class VII infected two other children in
his home, and one of the latter died of the disease on Decemher
5th. The death occurred in a child 21 months old—an age
peculiarly susceptible to a fatal attack of Measles.
Fortunately, the case in Class IV occurred towards the end
of the week, and the child was last at school on a Friday,
November 18th. As a result only two further cases resulted—
One in Class IV, and one in the boys department. Both cases
sickened on December 4th, but attended school on December
5th, before the rash appeared.
The number of contacts with the child in Class IV was
increased owing to the fact that four other classes had been
using the same class room simultaneously with Class IV. The
Infants Department of the Priory School was not at that time a
well-protected one. In Class IV, out of a total of 45, 14 had
not had Measles; and in Class VII, out of a total of 51, 22 had
not had Measles. The other four classes which had been in
contact with Class IV were better protected.
In Class I, 35 had had Measles and six had not; in Class
II the figures were 35 and 6; in Class III, 29 and 12; and
Class V, 23 and 4.
The situation one had to face was difficult. It was felt that
if School closure was to be of any avail, it must be done before