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81
showing any symptoms suggestive of any of these diseases until
medical assurance can be had that they may attend school without
harm to themselves or danger to other scholars.
The Head Teachers are at once informed of cases of notifiable
diseases occurring in children attending their departments, and
"contacts" can therefore be forthwith excluded.
The Attendance Officers inform the School Medical Officer of
any children who have recently been kept at home with illness of a
suspicious character, or concerning whom circumstances suggest
the possibility of infection.
A register of the non-notifiable diseases, Measles, Chickenpox,
Whooping Cough and Mumps is kept in the School Medical
Officer's Department. The entries in this register are made
from notification forms sent by school teachers. The accuracy of
these notifications is verified by the Attendance Officers, who consult
the Medical Officer in all cases of doubt. The return of these
diseases for the year 1914 appears in the table, page 83.
Swabs from the throats of children who had suggestive
symptoms of Diphtheria were taken and examined in the
Bacteriological Laboratory. I have to express my great appreciation
of the alertness shown by many teachers in promptly
reporting cases of sore throat. Many of these cases were seen at
the Inspection Clinic, and in the course of the year 358 throat
and nose "swabs" were taken from such patients.
By this procedure cases of Diphtheria were discovered that
might otherwise have passed unnoticed.