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In the second group, which includes measles, German measles,
whooping-cough, mumps, and chicken-pox, the majority of
children who reach the age of seven years have become protected by
a previous attack. It will be sufficient, therefore, to exclude from
school attendance, in addition to the patient, all those children living
in the same house who attend infant classes, and amongst the
children attending the senior classes, those only who are not already
protected by a previous attack of the disease in question. By
adopting a rule based on this suggestion, a much needed definition
would be given to the instruction as it relates to these diseases.
In the third group, which includes such diseases as ringworm,
ophthalmia, itch and other infectious skin diseases, it will only be
necessary to exclude the child who is suffering from the complaint,
and exclusion should be maintained until the condition is cured.
As regards the length of time which should elapse before the
re-admission to school of a patient, or of children from an infected
house, this is already determined in the case of the notifiable diseases
by notices sent to the schools from the Public Health Department,
but in that of the non-notifiable diseases, where in many cases no
medical advice is obtained, and no guidance on this point is available
either for the parents or for the school authorities, the question of
re-admission is at present quite uncontrolled.
In order to rectify this, I would suggest that a system of
communication between the Head Teachers and Attendance Officers
and myself should be established, whereby I would be informed daily
of the occurrence of new cases of these diseases. I could then
arrange for these to be visited and determine in each case when and
by whom school attendance might safely be renewed and notify the
head teachers accordingly.
I think it is advisable that a minimum time limit should be
apportioned to each of the diseases of the second group within