[Report 1961] / School Medical Officer of Health, Wiltshire County Council.

  • Wiltshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1961
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1961] / School Medical Officer of Health, Wiltshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The record of visits to Wiltshire of mass radiography units in 1961 and of attendances of school staffs is as follows:— Centre Visited Staff Invited Staff Attended Bradford-on-Avon 101 74 Chippenham 282 206 Marlborough 151 98 Melksham 148 110 Westbury... 103 78 Warminster 186 140 Great Bedwyn ... 21 10 Ashton Keynes ... 17 9 Cricklade... 25 20 Highworth 234 132 Pewsey 65 44 Purton 27 23 Ramsbury 21 14 Wootton Bassett 93 43 1,475 1,001 (67 The number for whom appointments were offered was 49.3 per cent of the total staff, of whom 67.8 per cent accepted. The comparable figures for 1960 were 38.1 per cent and 68.5 per cent. This is a regrettable falling-off in the acceptance rate, which in former years has reached 75 to 80 per cent. B.C.G. Vaccination The number of children who received B.C.G. vaccination against tuberculosis was 3,201. Further details under this heading are given in my report as Medical Officer of Health. INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN SCHOOLS Head Teachers are asked to inform the Principal School Medical Officer when children who are absent from school have or are suspected of having infectious illnesses, or are contacts, or when there is an exceptionally poor attendance even if the reason is not immediately known. The information is also sent at the same time to the district medical officer of health. Usually he is also the school medical officer and consultation between him and the Principal School Medical Officer is thus facilitated if special investigations or preventive measures are necessary at school. The conditions which accounted for most absenteeism during 1961 were measles, chickenpox and mumps, but no school closure was considered to be necessary. The following is a brief summary of the information received and action taken: Measles: Two thousand four hundred and forty-two cases were reported from 133 schools throughout the County and occurred mainly in March, May, June and July. Chickenpox: Seventy schools were affected with 684 cases between them, mainly in February, March and June. Mumps: Four hundred and nineteen cases were reported from 73 schools during the first six months of the year. Whooping Cough: Eighty-five children from 24 schools were reported to have whooping cough.