Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wembley]
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(1943) one child aged 3 developed Infective
Jaundice on 10th Hay. On the 7th June a
member of the nursing staff became similarly
ill, while 5 days later a voluntary part-time
helper at the Nursery also became ill and on the
3rd August another full-time member of the staff
has developed Jaundice. If these cases be
connected then the first case in a young child
may have commenced the sequence of 3 subsequent
illnesses amongst the adult staff, while not one
child has been infected. Further, at Carlyon
Road Nursery 2 children aged 3½ years and 1¾ years
developed Jaundice on 29th April and 1st July and
there has been no subsequent case, either amongst
the children or the staff.
Our information points to the likelihood of
a long incubation period for this illness, say
3 to 5 weeks. The condition in the main has
been a mild one but one death has to be recorded
in a boy aged 16 years. The disease certainly
behaves clinically like an infection but it does
not appear to be very infectious as is Measles
or Chicken-Pox for example, but an infection
surely it must be and children suffering from
the disease should be excluded from school for
a fortnight at least.
The Ministry of Health and the Medical
Research Council are conducting special
investigation regarding the occurrence of
Jaundice which has much increased throughout
the country in general and all the information
collected in Wembley has been submitted to the
Ministry of Health.
26.