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24
January and the beginning of February. The report runs:
"On Monday, the 10th inst., I attended before you and obtained
"your sanction to close the schools. This has been done. The
"number of cases has rapidly dimished during the week."
On February 17th, 1896, the British Schools were seriously
affected, and the Infants' School was closed, and on February 27th,
the Infants' Department at the National Schools was also closed
for the same reason. On the 23rd of March an epidemic occurred
in children attending the Catholic Schools and these were closed.
In each case the disease abated on closing the schools, and no
doubt in great measure prevented others contracting the disease.
I ought here to state that whenever I have closed the Day School
I have always obtained the consent of the Managers to close the
Sunday Schools also, as it would be obviously unwise to allow one
to be open and not the other.
Other Measures Taken.
In order to make it publicly known that compulsory notification
of Measles was in force in this district, and that not only
had the Medical Practitioners to notify the cases, but failing
medical advice being called in, the parents were bound to notify,
the Board caused printed handbills to be distributed wholesale
throughout the district giving all particulars. The result was not
satisfactory, as the parents either through ignorance or neglect
failed to attend to it. Now a to the results of the different
actions taken to prevent further spread of the disease.
1 st.—Compulsory Notification.
It is only too well shown that notification is not performed
properly, a large number of cases not being notified at all, and
only by accident or by most rigid enquiries are they found out.
For instance, on my report to the Council on the outbreak at
Burnt Oak, on February 15th, 1896, I stated: "Owing to the
"ignorance on the part of the parents and no medical man being
"called in, I was not informed of the existence of the disease in
"this quarter until about 20 children were taken ill."