DELAY IN NOTIFICATION.

Northern Advocate, 27 August 1913, Page 4

DELAY IN NOTIFICATION.

DISINFECTION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL..

There seems to have been a most unfortunate delay in officially reporting a case of chicken-pox in a house in Norfolk Street. It appears that a child of six years of age, a visitor from Auckland, staying at the house in question, was discovered by the neighbours to be in the peeling stage, the most dangerous stage as far as infection is concerned. The Borough Inspector got to hear of the matter on Monday, and made inquiries. He found that the report was correct, and that the case had been diagnosed as chicken-pox by a medical man on Saturday.

The ' secretary of the Hospital Board also heard unofficially of the case on Monday, and he telephoned to the doctor who had attended the patient and inauired whether he -was aware of a case of chicken-pox in Norfolk Street. The secretary informed an " Advocate " representative that the doctor replied that he knew of a case, and Mr. McKinnon asked why it was he had not received notification, and the doctor informed bim that the notice had been posted. " I got the notice yesterday, the 26th," Mr. McKinnon explained, " and it was dated Saturday, the £?rd."

The house has since been fumigated and isolated.

The householder, who happens to be a school teacher, attended the Whangarei School on Monday and took his class as usual in the morning. In the afternoon, however, he stated thl facts to the headmaster, and the lattep directed him to find out his position, the result being that the teacher* concerned had to absent himself from the school.

The chairman of the School Committee (Mr. J. Wilkinson) became conversant with the facts yesterday afternoon, and he has acted with commendable promptitude. He immediately got into communication with the headmaster of the school, and it was arranged that as a contact had "been on the premises, to have the building disinfected throughout as a precaution against infection. When the scholars arrived this morning they were dismissed for the day to enable disinfection to be carried out, the technical school being treated similarly. The schools will reopen on Friday morning as usual.