London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

Camberwell 1893

Thirty-eighth annual report of the Vestry...

This page requires JavaScript

removed to the hospital, the remaining thirty-five being
treated at home. Of those removed to the hospital
ten cases were returned immediately as not suffering from
small-pox. In connection with five of these ten cases no
fresh outbreaks were reported as occurring in the houses to
which the patients were returned, so that we may assume
that the diagnosis of the Metropolitan Asylums Board was
in these instances correct. In the case of three we received
subsequent notifications of small-pox from the houses of
these patients, less than fourteen days having elapsed from
the return of the first case ; and, of these three, one was sent
to the hospital ships and detained there as suffering from
undoubted small-pox. The other fresh cases occurring in
the before-mentioned houses were seen by Dr. Bristowe or
myself, and in each case we considered it true small-pox.
One other case was returned after three days owing to its
doubtful character, while the fifth was allowed, after he had
recovered from his illness, for which he was treated at
home, to go to the Metropolitan Asylums Board Convalescent
Farm.
"In ten cases out of the thirty-five that were not
removed it is probable, judging from the history of the
illness, the symptoms of the patients, and what happened
subsequently, that they were not really cases of small-pox.
"Regarding the remaining instances where patients
were not removed, we would point out that two occurred
where another inmate of the house was returned from the
wharf as not having small-pox.
"It was noticed in all but two instances that whereever
an unremoved case of undoubted small-pox existed,