[Report 1954] / School Medical Officer of Health, Holland County Council (Lincolnshire).

  • Holland (England). County Council.
Date:
1954
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1954] / School Medical Officer of Health, Holland County Council (Lincolnshire). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    them that the child is verminous and must be cleansed to the nurse’s satisfaction within a specified time. If, after the expiry of the given time the child is still found unclean, an order is issued by the School Medical Officer under Section 54 of the Education Act, 1944, instructing the child’s parents to present the child for cleansing at one of the Authority’s Cleansing Stations at Boston or Spalding. During the year, 47,709 examinations were made by the school nurses and 438 children were found to be verminous. All cases are recorded even though the infestation is only very slight. One compulsory cleansing order was issued during 1954. If, after the cleansing of a child has been carried out under sub-section 6 of Section 54 of the Education Act, 1944, the child is again found to be verminous, due to the parent’s neglect, the Local Authority has power to institute proceedings against the parents. Such action was not necessary during 1954. Facilities are available at cleansing stations at Boston and Spalding for the treatment of scabies. VI.—INFECTIOUS DISEASES. Diphtheria. 1,449 booster injections were given in the schools during the year. The maintenance of immunity after primary immunisation is a matter of major importance. 1,379 children of pre-school age received primary immunisation and 92 children of school age. It is difficult to understand why parents of 92 school children delayed immunisation until after entry into school. Making the opportunity in the earlier years is a wise and recommended policy. Failure to present the child could well be disastrous as in recent weeks diphtheria has appeared in localities not far distant from the County of Holland. Sonne Dysentery. In 1953, 45 school children suffered from this disease, and in 1954, 53 school children were affected and 57 pre-school children. 21 cases were notified during the week ending July 17th. The notifi- cations would represent a proportion only of the actual cases. Minor illnesses would occur, the patients not seeking medical advice. The carrier rate, unknown in itself, would be at a high level. The infection passes quickly from one person to another ; the disease is a bowel disease and attention is drawn to the need to raise the standards of personal hygiene within the affected community, to the highest possible levels.