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One matter which has been exercising me, particularly as
District School Medical Officer, has been the increasing incidence
of plantar warts (verrucas) among school children. Although it
is quite obvious that swimming baths are by no means the only
way in which verrucas can be spread, it is equally obvious that the
wet surrounds of swimming baths, either open air or closed,
provide an excellent means of allowing the virus which causes
verrucas to pass from one child to another. In order to try to
obviate this particular means of spreading verrucas, I addressed the
letter set out below to the Superintendent of our swimming Bath:
"I have been worried for some considerable time about the
matter of the exclusion of children from the Swimming Bath who
are a danger to other children—and even to adults—by reason of
the spread of infectious diseases. I am thinking particularly of
that great nuisance, the plantar wart or, as it is usually known, the
verruca, even when the wart is covered by adhesive plaster. As
we are all aware, adhesive plaster has a nasty habit of coming off in
water.
"We know that these warts can be and are being spread to
quite an extent on swimming bath surrounds. The reason is very
simple. Swimming bath surrounds are one of the few places
where large numbers of children persistently walk for fairly long
periods with bare feet. If a child with a verruca walks on a
swimming bath surround with bare feet, the virus which causes a
verruca can be left behind on the surround and may be picked up
by any child who follows shortly afterwards. As you will see ,it
is not the swimming bath itself which has anything whatsoever
to do with the spread of verrucas; it is simply and solely the fact
that children do use the surrounds in bare feet.
"If we could be sure that children with verrucas on the sole
of the foot were excluded from swimming baths, I am perfectly
certain that the incidence of verrucas would very considerably
diminish. As you may be aware, I have tried, by articles in the
press, by letters to head teachers, by talks to parents, etc., to instil
into everyone concerned the vital importance of ensuring that
children do NOT visit swimming baths when they are suffering
from a verruca. Unfortunately, in spite of all we have done, some
parents are still sufficiently careless as to allow their children to
visit our swimming baths, knowing perfectly well that they have
a verruca. And it is here that we would very much like your
continued help.
"I know how very helpful you have been in the past. Indeed
I am more than delighted at the number of times the Public Health
Department has been telephoned, enquiring as to whether or not a
particular child should be excluded, either because of a verruca or
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