[Report 1956] / School Medical Officer of Health, Counties of Perth & Kinross.

  • Perthshire (Scotland). County Council.
Date:
1956
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1956] / School Medical Officer of Health, Counties of Perth & Kinross. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/22 (page 10)
    Cases treated during the year 647 Cases ceasing to attend cured 622 improved - Cases under treatment at end of year 25 (2) Diseases of the ear. In Perth City cases are treated by the School Clinic. County cases are treated either by the District Nurses or the family doctors. Cases treated at Perth Clinic: Cases treated during the year 102 Cases ceasing to attend- cured 97 improved - Cases under treatment at end of year 5 During the session 16 Ear, Nose and Throat clinics were held at which there were 193 examinations of children by the Specialist. 57 cases were recommended for removal of tonsils and adenoids and 6 cases for removal of adenoids; 35 of these cases were done before the end of the session and one case left the area before treatment could be carried out. 12 cases of otorrhoea and 16 nasal cases were dealt.with. 43 cases of catarrhal deafness were successfully treated by politzeration. In 20 cases conservative treatment was advised. One patient was referred to Perth Royal Infirmary suffering from mastoiditis and 14 were referred for radiological investigation of sinuses; 1 case was referred to the Speech Therapist. (3) Diseases of the eye, excluding defective vision. Cases usually consist of styes, blepharitis or conjunctivitis. These are treated by the Clinic or the District Nurses. 213 cases ’were treated at the Perth Clinic this year. (4) Diseases of the Skin. (a) Ringworm of the Scalp. On 16/2/56 a serious outbreak of ringworm of the scalp was discovered at Kinross. 31 cases were found at Kinross School plus 5 cases amongst pre-school contacts and a solitary case was found at Portmoak School, also a contact of a Kinross case - a total of 37 florid cases. In addition, 4 very mild cases (only 3 or 4 infected hairs) were found. These were manually epilated successfully and are not referred to further here. The cases were scattered throughout the school, only one class in the primary, department escaping infection, but only 3 cases occurred in the secondary department. This wide scatter of infection was probably partly due to infection in one family with four children at various stages. The causal organism was found to be Microsporan Audouini. All the cases were seen in consultation by Dr. Finn, Dermatology Department, Bridge of Earn Hospital, and treatment was arranged through his Department. 21 cases (20 boys and 1 girl) received X-ray treatment at Dundee Royal Infirmary. 10 cases (6 boys and 4 girls) had Thallium treatment, the individual doses being made up at Dundee Royal Infirmary and administered by the District Nurse. 5 cases (3 boys and 2 girls) were treated by manual epilation only by the Medical Officers and District Nurses at the weekly clinics held at Kinross School. 1 girl developed Kerion and cleared satisfactorily without other treatment. The outbreak has involved a tremendous amount of work. In addition to weekly clinics at Kinross School, consecutive examinations of the whole school population (650 pupils on the roll) was necessary, the latest school case being found on 9/3/56, although a pre-school contact was found as late as 4/5/56. In addition, neighbouring schools with contacts with Kinross School were also surveyed (Milnathort, Fossoway, Portmoak and Cleish) , Fortunately ele'ctricity is available, at all the schools concerned, so that the Wood’s Lamp could b'e used with improvised blackout. By the beginning of session 1956-57, all but three of the cases were ready to return to school, but weekly follow-up clinics we:re still being held. (b)/