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Scarlet Fever and Tonsillitis.
In mid-March several cases of scarlet fever were notified
amongst children attending Thorpe Hall Infants School and the
parents of all children were circularised requesting their co-operation
in ensuring that no unfit child be sent to school. Symptoms and
signs were described and parents were also advised that if further
cases developed, the attendance of their children at school would
be presumptive of their agreement for nose and throat swabs to be
taken.
This became necessary on 25th March, and before the school
was cleared one month later, out of a total of 162 on roll six cases
of scarlet fever had been notified and thirty-two children had been
found to be carrying haemolytic streptococci. Random typings
showed these to be Type 4 (one), Type 22 (one) and Type 28 (two).
School meals and milk were not implicated, and as on a previous
occasion some years ago at the same school, the outbreak appeared
to be due to case to case infection.
In May a case of scarlet fever occurred at Mark House Infants
School and later on in the same school there was a number of
children with sore throats and ear discharge. An appeal was made
to the parents not to send their children to school unless quite fit.
At the end of September the Headmaster of the adjoining
secondary school stated that since the beginning of the autumn
term there had been some fifteen cases of sore throats, mainly in
two classes. There was no nausea or vomiting and sample swabs
gave negative results.
In November a circular letter had to be sent to parents of
children attending the Infants School and on the same lines as the
one addressed to the parents of children attending the secondary
school. All swabs were negative.