[Report 1957] / School Medical Officer of Health, Salop / Shropshire County Council.

  • Shropshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1957
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1957] / School Medical Officer of Health, Salop / Shropshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The following are particulars of schools visited for B.C.G. vaccination purposes during 1957:— Schools Children Positive Negative Not Children Maintained and Visited Tested Reactors Reactors Read Vaccinated Grant-aided Schools 114 4,275 1,105 3,030 140 3,016 Independent Schools 15 192 55 137 — 136 Mass Radiography.—As was the case in 1956, positive reactors and their home contacts were X-rayed by either the Stoke-on-Trent or Wolverhampton Mass Radiography Units, each of which made special visits to the County for this purpose. The following table summarises the results of the surveys carried out in Shropshire in respect of 13 year old positive reactors, their home contacts and school staff:— Pupils Cases investigated .. .. 2,101 Recalled for large film examination 45 Cases of tuberculosis discovered:— Respiratory .. ., .. 3 Non-respiratory .. ., ,. — Home Contacts Staff 1,775 181 36 1 2 1 Following discussions with the Consultant Chest Physician arrangements have now been made for all positive reactors to the Mantoux test showing a large reading to have an early large film X-ray at the Chest Clinic, with a check in the same year by Mass Miniature Radiography. A further small film X-ray will be taken in the following year and children at Grammar Schools will be offered an annual check until 18 years of age. This is considered essential since these cases are the potential future tuberculosis cases. {For the lay reader, the Mantoux test comprises the injection, intradermally into the left forearm, of one-tenth c.c. Purified Protein Derivative of old tuberculin, strength 1/1,000. The injection site is examined after 72 hours and any induration measured. An induration of 5 m.m. or less is regarded as a negative reaction and these are the cases given B.C.G. vaccination. Those of 6 m.m. or more are taken as positive and the special follow-up procedure referred to in the previous paragraph is undertaken where the reading is 20 m.m. or more). DIPHTHERIA IMMUNISATION Routine Medical Examination Sessions in school give the School Medical Officer opportunity to check on the children’s state of protection against Diphtheria, to urge the importance of immunisation and to get parental consent to its promotion and maintenance. School Nurses, Health Visitors and District Nurses, who in the course of their duties discover school children who have missed immunisation, also endeavour to obtain the necessary parental “consents.” Propaganda methods, including the display of posters and advertisements in the press, are also used from time to time to remind the public of the importance of immunisation. During 1957, the total number of children of school age who were primarily immu¬ nised was 458; of this number, 238 were treated by School Medical Officers and 220 by general medical practitioners. Children immunised against Diphtheria in infancy should have a reinforcing injection after an interval of three or four years and School Medical Officers at routine medical inspections advise this in appropriate cases.