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be quite understood that all children from infected houses
are at once excluded from school, although it is the
practice of many Medical Officers of Health not to exclude
children who have themselves had Measles some time
previous, as they believe that such persons are not likely
to be carriers of the disease. From this I dissent, firstly,
on the grounds that a child may have Measles more than
once ; secondly, that although the parents may consider
that their children had Measles at some time anterior,
yet they may have been mistaken in the diagnosis in as
much as amongst the poorer classes the services of a
medical man are but seldom sought if the cases are
Measles of a mild type; and, thirdly, I am by no means
sure that the child may not be a carrier of the disease,
even though personally the child may be immune owing
to a previous attack. I am aware that much difference
exists amongst school managers and education authorities
generally as to when schools should be closed or not, but
I think that their opposition is due to the failure to realise
the many complications which may arise from an attack
of Measles, as although the attack itself may not be fatal,
yet it may leave behind some physical debility which may
militate against the child ever obtaining robust health in
the future. The closing of the schools does undoubtedly
limit the number of cases, as it prevents the bringing
together of those who are in an highly infectious state
and those who are susceptible to the disease.
In the face of a commencing epidemic the closing,
at any rate, of the infant classes of a school seems a step
which is certainly desirable, not only because infant
classes may be assumed to contain a much larger proportion
of susceptible children, but also because the mortality