London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of London 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
This page requires JavaScript
TABLE IV.— Cholera (including suspected cases).
| Date. | Name of Vessel, Port of Registry and Official No. | Where from. | No. of Cases. | How dealt with. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923. July 4 | ss. "Clan Lindsay" of Glasgow, 117,504. | Calcutta | 2 | Died on board. |
| Sept. 24 | ss. "Inventor" of Liverpool, 131,287. | " | 1 | Landed at Suez. |
| 3 |
CHOLERA.
ss. "Clan Lindsay" arrived from Calcutta on the 4th July, 1923. Ports of call :
Bimlipatam 30 April.
Vizagapatam 8 May.
Cocanada 13 ,,
Madras 20 ,,
Pt. de Galle 27 ,,
Aden 8 June.
Pt. Said 16 ,,
Malta 22 „
Water taken in at :—
Calcutta 16 April.
Madras 19 May.
Pt. de Galle 27 ,,
Suez 16 June
Malta 22 „
Case 1.—Lascar taken ill suddenly at 9 a.m. on the 18th April, with pains and
cramp in abdomen, diarrhoea and vomiting, died on board at 9 p.m. same day.
Buried at sea on the 19th April.
Case 2.—Lascar taken ill suddenly on 19th April at 11 a.m., with cramp in
stomach and diarrhœa, no vomiting, symptoms less severe than the first case.
This man was seen by a native doctor from the shore at Bimlipatam; the man
died on the 22nd April and was buried at sea the same day.
A third native was sent to hospital with diarrhoea, but was discharged well on
the third day.
Native crew's quarters were fumigated with sulphur and washed down with
carbolic acid.
Crew joined the ship at Calcutta, and the first case developed the day after
leaving port.
The Calcutta water in tanks was all pumped out, tanks cleaned and cement
washed and only condensed water used on board until ship arrived at Madras,
when a fresh supply of water was taken in.
ss. "Inventor" arrived from Calcutta on the 24th September, 1923.
Ports touched at during voyage Colombo, 25-8-23; Port Sudan,
7-9-23; Suez and Port
Said, 10-12-9-23.
Water taken in Calcutta, 16-8-23; Suez,
10-9-23 (after disinfection and
cleansing of tanks).
On the night of September 7th, the 5th engineer complained of pain in the bellv
and vomited up oranges and monkey nuts. There was no diarrhoea. On the 10th
he was worse and temperature rose to 100 degrees. He was moribund when vessel
arrived at Suez, 10th; died at 6 p.m. Body landed at Suez.
All rooms and crew's clothing were fumigated. Water tanks emptied and
cleansed, and fresh water supplied at Suez.
Crew all inspected at Gravesend and found well. Vessel proceeded to Liverpool
later on landing 18 or 19 stewards for ss. "Intaba" in London. No fresh
cases occurred.
A telegram was received from Suez to the effect that result of bacteriological
examination was negative to cholera.