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Preventable Diseases of Children: Persons

Persons exposed to measles and who have never had the disease should be quarantined for two weeks from time of exposure. Adults who have had the disease may go about their ordinary business, providing they keep entirely away from the sick room. But no person from a home quarantined for measles should attend school, church, theater, or other public gathering. Everything coming from the patient's room should be disinfected. After recovery or death the sick room should be thoroughly disinfected with formaldehyde or sulphur as elsewhere recommended.

WHOOPING COUGH This is a highly contagious disease characterized by severe inflammation of the bronchial tubes and accompanied by a peculiar cough ending in all the familiar "whoop." It has all the characteristics of a germ disease but the germ which causes it has not yet been identified. Persons of all ages are liable to the attacks of this malady but practically all deaths occur under the age of five years. One-half of these occur under one year of age. The average age of death is one and a half years.

Whooping cough, when severe, is a debilitating disease at any time of life. It lasts for several weeks and is not infrequently complicated with pneumonia. It often leads to chronic invalidism from exhaustion, with heart and lung changes which may be permanent. The disease may occur at any time of the year but the greatest mortality is in July and August. Children should never be knowingly exposed to whooping cough and great care should be taken to protect children under five years of age from infection. After this period the likelihood of infection is much lessened and the danger of death from this disease is practically over. Many persons escape this malady altogether.