London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of Westminster 1910
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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In London the increase in the number of cases occurred in the third and fourth quarters of the year; in Westminster it was in the second and third quarters:—
| Typhoid Fever. | London. | Westminster. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909. | 1910. | 1909. | 1910. | |
| 1 st Quarter | 354 | 242 | 9 | 10 |
| 2nd | 197 | 166 | 1 | 19 |
| 3rd | 239 | 415 | 6 | 14 |
| 4th | 253 | 460 | 9 | 5 |
| The Year | 1,043 | 1,283 | 25 | 43 |
Of the 47 eases, 17 of the patients contracted the disease out of
London; of the remaining 30 no definite history was obtainable in
14 instances, 3 contracted the disease by attending persons suffering
from the complaint, and 13 had a definite history of having eaten
shell fish or fresh fish (from stalls or from fried fish shops). As
pointed out in previous reports, a number of the cases are of persons
connected with food in some way, such as hotel and restaurant
employes.
Seven of the cases proved fatal.
Five cases occurred in one family, the patients being the mother and
four daughters, the father, son and baby escaping. It has not been
possible, so far, to discover how they became infected. Suspicion at
first fell on winkles which had been eaten by all the family, except the
baby, on the 3rd April; the officials of the Fishmongers' Company
made very careful enquiries with regard to the source from which
they were obtained and the processes to which they are subjected
before they reach the consumer. It appears that winkles arrive at
Billingsgate from several sources and on arrival are mixed. They are
sold to retailers, in this instance for his Sunday trade only. The
winkles are placed in brine by the retailer for 16 hours, and are then
washed in fresh water to remove grit and dirt. They are then cooked,
about three-quarters of a bushel at a time being plunged in a wire
basket into boiling water. The water in the first instance is brought up
to the boil, on the winkles being plunged in, the water is necessarily
cooled, but the water is again allowed to come up to the boiling point,
and the winkles are kept in it at boiling point for 2½ to 3½ minutes, being
kept in the water therefore for about 5 minutes in all. After this operation
the winkles are again placed in brine for about half an hour. If
this operation be done thoroughly the winkles ought to be freed from
any deleterious organism should such have been present.
Advantage was taken to obtain the City Bacteriologist's opinion in
18 cases, in 5 the Widal reaction was reported.