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10
Dr. Roberts states that the general impression is that the
children examined are better nourished than formerly, and it is
undoubtedly true that parents show more interest in the question
of suitable diet than was formerly the case.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Cases of infectious diseases are occasionally met with at
routine inspections or at one of the school clinics. Systematic swabbing
of sore throats and suspicious nasal discharges brings to light
unsuspected diphtheria.
All infectious cases and contacts are excluded from school
till they are deemed free from infection on the general lines laid
down in the Joint Memorandum issued by the Ministry of Health
and the Boaid of Education, 1927.
During the year 1927, the following cases of infectious disease
occurred among children attending public elementary schools in
this district: —
Scarlet Fever 31
Diphtheria 29
Measles 35
Rubella 7
Mumps 352
Chicken Pox 243
Whooping Cough 157
854
The non-notifiable diseases, Measles, Rubella, Mumps,
Chicken Pox and Whooping Cough, are visited by the School
Nurses, and in doubtful cases by one of the Medical Officers when
there is no doctor in attendance.
Similar action is taken in respect of children kept at home
on account of a "rash."
Infectious visiting takes up a considerable part of the Nurse s
visiting time.
To be effective it must be done as soon as the notification
arrives, and cases may be some distance apart, thus taking much