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days (including only about 9 working days). When it was known that
a large proportion of the children in a class had had Measles, only
those children have been excluded who were stated not to have
already suffered from the disease.
Results of investigation.—The appended tables summarise the
results of the investigation. They compare notifications and deaths
in the West or non-closure district with those in the East or closure
district, both for the period January 1903, to December 1906 inclusive,
and for the two preceding years 1901 and 1902, when early closure
was not enforced at all.
Table I. shows the age incidence of notifications in the whole
Borough, and Table 11. the age incidence of deaths in each district
and during each period. Table III. shows the schools in each district,
with the numbers on the roll and the cases notified during 1903-6,
Table IV. shows the same items for 1901-2. The notifications in Table
111. include only children attending school. The notifications in
Table I. include, in addition, children not attending school who have
been notified by school teachers, owing to brothers or sisters being
excluded on their account, and also a few cases notified by parents
or others. Table V. shows the notifications and death-rates for each
district in each period of time, i.e., before and after closure was
commenced.
The following facts appear from the investigation:—
1. The largest number of cases notified was between the ages of
five and six years, and the next largest number between
four and five.
2. Over three-fourths of the cases notified were between three
and seven years of age.
3. Closure had a little effect on age incidence. It diminished
the incidence at ages under three.
4. Nearly one-fourth of the deaths were in children under one
year of age, and only one in ten were in children over five.
5. During the two years (1901 and 1902) preceding closure, the
notification rate was much higher in the east or closure
district than in the west or non-closure district, viz., as 21.3
to 15.4.
6. There was a great increase of notifications during the second
period, 1903-6. In the west, or non-closure district, the
notification rate increased from 15.4 to 26.0, and in the east,
or closure district, from 21.3 to 30.8.
7. During 1903-6 there was a higher rate of notifications in the
closure district than in the non-closure (30.8 compared with
26.0).
8. Comparing the two periods of time before and after closure
commenced, in the latter period there was an increase of
the rate of notifications of 69 per cent. in the non-closure
district, but the increase in the closure district was only
45 per cent. Thus while an increase of notifications was
general throughout the Borough, closure had the effect of
diminishing the increase in the east district. This may
partly be ascribed to the fact of teachers not hearing of
cases of Measles occurring among excluded children, though
I have no doubt most of these cases were reported on reassembly
of the class.