View report page

19
The school was visited and advice given as to the management of children
taken ill whilst at school and also on measures for the cleansing and disinfection
of the lavatories and fittings of the infants department.
The head teacher provided a list of children who were or had been absent
during the previous fortnight. The outbreak was mainly confined to the
infants department. Three cases occurred later in the senior department but
these were all home contacts of affected children in the younger age group.
As many as possible of the local cases were visited that day and unless
the absence was obviously not due to bowel infection e.g. mumps and otitis
media, containers were left for faecal specimens. The general practitioner
was informed in each case and kept advised throughout the outbreak as to the
results of laboratory investigations.
The population of this school is drawn from a large area so that the
medical officers of health of a number of neighbouring authorities had to be
informed.
Laboratory findings established that the responsible organism was
”Shigella Sonnei” and children were excluded from school until three consecutive
negative specimens were obtained.
The coming of the Easter holidays facilitated exclusion but to some
extent slowed up the collection of specimens. It was not until 6th May,
1953, that the last negative results were obtained and the incident considered
closed.
Four children (3 Tottenham 1 Wood Green) were removed to hospital.
In the investigation carried out within the Borough faecal specimens were
examined from 34 children and 12 members of the school staff. No positive
specimens were obtained from any of the staff or from eight of the children.
Some 220 specimens altogether were sent to the laboratory by this department.
Twenty-six children were resident in the areas of other authorities each
of which undertook local investigations.
In addition five parents reported an attack of diarrhoea three of whom
gave positive results during the outbreak. Also a pre-school child investigated
gave negative results in all three specimens examined,
Malaria
Four cases of malaria were notified during the year. Three were recurrences
in young men who had been abroad and the fourth was induced for therapeutic
purposes.