CHAPTER 51.
BOARDS OF HEALTH. HEALTH BOARDS AND REGULATIONS.
AN ACT for the prevention of blindness from inflammation of the eyes of the new-born.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. Any inflammation, swelling, or redness in either one or both eyes of any infant, either apart from or together with any unnatural discharge from the eye or eyes of such infant, independent of the nature of the infection, if any, occurring any time within two weeks after the birth of such infant, shall be known as "Inflammation of the Eyes of the New-Born."
Section 2. It shall be the duty of any physician, surgeon, obstetrician, midwife, nurse, maternity home or hospital of any nature, parent, relative, and any persons attendant on or assisting in any way whatsoever, any infant or the mother of an infant at childbirth, or any time within two weeks after childbirth, knowing the condition hereinabove defined to exist, within six hours thereafter to report such fact to the local Health Officer of the City, town, village or whatever other political division there may be, within which the infant or the mother of any such infant may reside, and it shall be the duty of the local Health Officer to investigate or to have investigated, each case as filed with him in pursuance with the law, and any other such case as may come to his attention.
Section 3. It shall be the duty of physicians, midwives, or other persons in attendance upon cases of childbirth to use some prophylactic against inflammation of the eyes of the new-born and to make record of the prophylactic used, and to endorse the details thereof on every Birth Certificate.
Section 4. Whoever, being a physician, surgeon, midwife, obstetrician, nurse, parent, relative, or person attendant upon or assisting at the birth of any infant, shall violate any of the provisions of this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not less than Five Dollars nor more than One Hundred Dollars.
Approved April 2, A. D. 1917.