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permanent damage caused owing to lack of care of these diseases.
Measles, for instance, is frequently considered to be the
reason for the development of serious tuberculous infection, and
whether it lights up a quiescent infection which the child was
combating or leaves the child unable to cope with an infection
subsequently received, as is sometimes thought to occur, is beside
the question. What matters is the frequency, in the history of
tuberculous infection, that "the child has never been right since
it had the Measles."
Measles also causes its deaths principally in the children
below school age, many of whom very probably would not contract
the disease or would certainly be sufficiently cared for if
the school notifications were followed up; thus during 1922, 102
of the 107 deaths took place in children under 5, and last year
27 out of the 29 deaths were of children under school age. There
have been 9 deaths up to February 27th of this year, all among
children under 5 years of age, but, as already stated, deaths
alone give no indication of the damage caused by these diseases.
The number of cases notified in 1924 from the schools already has
reached 863, and 75 cases have been removed to Hospital.
Nursing Assistance.—The King's Home for Nurses under
present arrangements will receive a sum (estimated) during the
coming financial year, of £100 for nursing assistance granted
under the Maternity and Child Welfare scheme, this payment
by the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee being made
on behalf of necessitous cases and as regards those families
where the King's Home certify that no contribution towards the
cost of nursing can be made by the family.
For this money the nurses will pay 1,600 visits, all, be it
noted, to urgent cases found at the Centres or brought to the
notice of the Public Health Department by medical practitioners
and others.