[Report 1909] / Medical Officer of Health, Faversham (Union) R.D.C.

  • Faversham (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1909] / Medical Officer of Health, Faversham (Union) R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    There were four fresh cases of diphtheria between November 28th and ])ecember 3rd, and I again recommended closure from November 30th till December .14th. There was no further case till January 6th and I had again to close the school from January 11th till the 25th. During all this time most strenuous care was being given to isolation, inspection of other children, sanitary precautioiis, school disinfection, &c., and yet the disease was clearly being spread in the school. Having thus proved the inutility of school closure in combating the epidemic, I asked Dr. Howarth, the County Medical Officer of Health, to undertake the Bacteriological examination of all inflamed throats in the school. He came on January 21st, and we agreed to keep the school closed till February 3rd, when together we examined every child in the school, and separated and swabbed every suspicious throat, and the throats of every child that had had diphtheria in the past three months, but no diphtheria bacilli were found in any of the cases. On February 17th, all the pencils used by the lower classes wnre destroyed. It is impossible to imagine a more easy way of spreading the disease, than by an infectious child licking a pencil one day, and another child licking the same pencil another day. To show the persistent character of the infection, one boy wBo was notilied to me with diphtheria, on October 22nd, 1908, who was treated at home, was found to have Klebs Loftier Diphtheria Bacilli in his throat, by bacteriological examination on January 31st, and in that particular case I had the greatest difficulty in getting the parents to keep him properly isolated at home. In the whole epidemic there were 21 cases and four deaths. 1 have advised the School Authorities for the future, to provide every child with separate pens and pencils. BOUGHTON WESLEYAN SCHOOL At the end of January, an outbreak of diphtheria occurred at these schools, to account for which, I could find no connection with the Hernhill epidemic, though the cases were of the same malignant type. I closed this school for three weeks, from February 1st to February 22nd, and when the school reassembled on that day. Dr. Howarth having kindly supplied me with swabs, I examined the whole school, and swabb ed ail suspicious throats. These swabs were sent to Dr. Howarth at the K.C C. laboratory. On February 25th I got a telegram saying that bacilli had been found in the swab from the throat of a boy who had been poorly and who had attended school whilst suffering from diphtheria.