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167
or destructive to the articles subjected to their action. Thus it
is obvious that the only logical method of disinfecting school
materials used by infected scholars, if such disinfection be considered
necessary, is by destruction.
The value placed upon the use of disinfectants has undergone
great modification since the time of Lord Lister; in modern
aseptic operative technique both disinfectants and antiseptics are
conspicuous by their absence and strict soap-and-water cleanliness
is relied upon to prevent the introduction of infection.
Some Local Authorities have discontinued the practice of
carrying out disinfection of premises and fomites in cases of acute
infectious diseases and have produced statistics which demonstrate
conclusively that the incidence of such diseases has remained
unaffected.
Arthur Newsholme in his work on School Hygiene states
that " disinfection after cases of acute infectious disease is probably
a waste of money when it goes beyond the use of soap and
water; apart from its moral sustaining effect, it is probably a
waste of time and material. Dr. J. J. Sykes termed school disinfection
' a sanitary rite of considerable moral value.' "
There is, however, the other side of the question, and one
wonders how often the pretence of disinfection has afforded a
false sense of security which eliminates the fulfilment of far more
important hygienic measures, such as thorough cleansing with
soap and water, frequent intensive ventilation by flushing halls
and class-rooms with fresh air and the periodic exposure of school
equipment to the action of air and sunlight.
The problem which confronts the Medical Staff of the Education
Authority is not the danger of infection from school
materials but the difficulty experienced in preventing the
attendance at school of children who are " carriers " of, or who
are suffering from extremely mild attacks of, acute infectious
disease. It is by no means uncommon to find, upon bacteriological
investigation, that apparently healthy scholars are harbouring
diphtheria germs in the nose or throat and, not infrequently,
children are discovered in school who exhibit the typical "peeling"
of scarlet fever, after a period of absence certified as being due to
tonsillitis, food rash, urticaria, German measles, or the like.