[Report 1927] / Medical Officer of Health, St Andrews.

  • St. Andrews (Scotland). Council.
Date:
1927
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1927] / Medical Officer of Health, St Andrews. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    An interesting comparison is found in St. Andrews in St. Leonards School for Girls. Conditions, however, are not parallel, because, under School conditions, the population is more closely confined, therefore more favourable ground for the spread of infection, while the immigration of infected individuals at the commencement of each term creates an epidemiological factor which is practically absent from the town. Nevertheless, a perusal of the sick register of the School provides very interesting information regarding the prevalence of non-notifiable infectious diseases and indicates that the strenuous efforts taken to prevent the occurrence of epidemics of notifiable infectious diseases are futile against the non-notifiable common infectious diseases. In the Spring, Summer and Winter Terms there occurred the follow- ing number of cases :— Influenza, .. .. .. .. .. 290 Common Cold, .. .. .. .. 75 Tonsillitis, .. .. .. .. .. 8 Whooping Cough, .. .. .. .. 6 Chickenpox, .. .. .. .. 11 Mumps, .. .. .. .. .. 64 454 Except for an epidemic of Mumps in the Spring term, the infectious diseases which materially affected the School were those of the upper respiratory tract. The loss of time resulting from these diseases is obviously great. They commence, as a rule, with catarrhal febriculae, which are acquired, in the opinion of Dr. J. H. P. Paton, the School Medical Officer, almost invariably during the train journey to School. These mild colds, after a few days or it may be weeks of passage, increase in their severity until, eventually, an epidemic, presenting all the clinical manifestations of influenza, is raging. In spite of the most careful precautions and procedures it is a very difficult matter indeed to abort these epidemics. The method adopted by Dr. Paton, however, of isolating in an observation ward every girl who shows a tem- perature of 98 4 degrees F., has proved of great assistance in the detection and prompt quarantine of early cases. With reference to this measure an article by Dr. Paton entitled “ Variations in