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Pupils who stay on at school beyond the compulsory school age, will have their next cleanliness
inspection at the routine medical examination which takes place at approximately 17 years of age.
If a case of infestation is reported from these two latter groups of senior pupils, the method
of inspection adopted to combat further infestation is left to the discretion of the Principal School
Medical Officer.
At any other time complaints of infestation of individual pupils cause immediate inspection
under this Section in the interests of the health and well-being of all school children.
Cleanliness Inspections
There has been a further increase in the number of children found to have head lice infestation.
184 children were found so infected for the first time during the year out of a total number of
61,030 inspections; this compares with 112 in 1970 and 68 in 1969. This reflects locally a general
rise of infestation on a national scale and greatly concerns the health department. In view of
recent reports which have suggested that the head louse is acquiring some resistance to the drugs
commonly used in treatment, other preparations are being tried. The careful inspection of children
in all schools must obviously be continued and re-examination of class mates and contacts
vigorously pursued.
1970 1971
Number of cleanliness inspections 52,856 61,030
Found infected for the first time 112 184
Skin Defects
The decline in skin defects noted last year was not maintained in 1971. 1.7% of all defects
were those of the skin in 1970, in 1971 there were 2.5% of defects due to skin conditions. The
incidence was greater this year among the junior school children at the intermediate examinations
followed by infant school children. The reason for the increased number of skin defects among
juniors is probably due to infections of the skin, e.g. plantar warts (verrucae).
Plantar warts are discovered among all groups of the school child population but more so
among those in the junior schools and the early years of the senior schools. The reason for this
special predilection for these ages is not known but may be connected with the communal use
of dressing rooms and wash rooms after games. The numbers of verrucae being reported by headteachers
was much larger than the figures for routine medical inspection showed and highlighted
a cause of discomfort for many children that could no longer be tolerated. The number of children
affected was too large for individual chiropodists to deal with and some other approach was
sought. Various methods of treatment were considered and it was decided to adopt one which
required the application of a small ring of plaster containing a keratolitic agent to the wart for a
period of one week (7 days). After a variable length of time the wart is shed with the surrounding
dead skin. The experience gained so far is limited but shows some promising results and the
statistics of treatment and cure rate should be available during the next few months.
Scabies
During 1971, 25 visits were made to 21 different schools where investigations were thought
to be necessary; 21 cases of scabies infestation were diagnosed. All parts of the Borough were
involved as was the pattern of infestation last year. There has, however, been a reduction in the
number of cases diagnosed from 32 in 1970 to 21 in 1971.
Four doctors have received special training for the diagnosis of scabies and these doctors
lead teams where investigation of school contacts has been required. It is expected that the
expertise developed from this approach will hasten the clearing up of this disease in the Borough
and the smaller figure of scabies cases this year points towards some success in this direction.
Further details are recorded on page 172.
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