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London Fever Hospital, and a few of the cases were treated at home where the
circumstances were such as admitted of effective measures being carried out for proper
isolation. Of the cases certified, 207 or 94 per cent. were removed to hospital for
treatment. A few of the cases, which are noted in the list appended, were found, after
being kept under observation at the hospital, not to be suffering from scarlet fever in
the opinions of the medical officers of the Board. It may be stated that there was at
no time any difficulty or delay on the part of the authorities of the Metropolitan
Asylums Board in securing the prompt removal of any of the cases.
The disinfection of the premises was carried out with as little loss of time as
possible as soon as was convenient after the removal of the cases. Efforts were made
to deal with all premises notified as ready for disinfection the same day that they were
so notified. During the early days of the outbreak, when the work of disinfection was
extremely pressing, we were fortunate in securing the assistance of the disinfecting
officers of the Borough of Finsbury. Afterwards, by dint of employing an extra man
and working from 6 a.m. to 1 or 2 o'clock the following morning, each day's work of
disinfection was carried out, and in a few instances only had cases to stand over until
the next day.
Altogether during the outbreak disinfection for scarlet fever cases was carried out
199 times ; some 215 beds, 180 mattresses, 397 pillows, 154 bolsters, and 2,388 textile
articles of various descriptions were removed and disinfected at the Borough
Disinfecting Station. This work is of course in addition to the usual amount of
disinfection carried out in connection with cases of infectious disease other than scarlet
fever, which, however, fortunately happened not to be very heavy at the time.
For about a fortnight the ordinary course of the sanitary work was considerably
retarded, more especially in the sanitary districts of Messrs. Firth, Jordan and Quelch,
which were chiefly affected. The enquiries which had to be made and the steps taken
in connection with the cases necessarily consumed much time, and whilst the outbreak
lasted it took precedence of everything except the most urgent matters. The manner
in which the sanitary inspectors, clerks and disinfecting officers performed their duties
during the period of the outbreak was of a praiseworthy character, and I have much
pleasure in expressing my satisfaction therewith.
Although what I have stated in this report has reference to the outbreak only so
far as it affected Shoreditch, and the story must therefore be incomplete, yet taking the
broad facts, firstly that there was a sudden occurrence of unusual numbers of cases of
scarlet fever amongst the customers of certain milk vendors ; secondly, that these milk
vendors were supplied by a particular milk contractor who obtained the milk he
supplied them with from a limited number of farms; thirdly, that on one of these farms,
the milk from which was ascertained to have been supplied to the milk vendors in
question, cases of throat illness, of which one at least was a case of scarlet fever, were
found to have existed at the time of the commencement of the outbreak in Shoreditch;
and lastly, that the stoppage of the milk from this farm was followed by, allowing for
the period of incubation of the disease, a sudden drop in the number of cases occurring