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8
SMALL POX.
During the year we have had forty-two cases of this disease
notified, these all occurred between January and June and
seemed to be a continuation of the slight epidemic that was
more or less with us throughout 1893. It is singular that there
were only seven cases under twelve years of age, whilst a large
per centage were over twenty years, all the cases but six were
removed to the Hospital Ships. They occurred as follows: 4 in
January, 3 in February, 4 in March, 7 in April, 14 in May, and
10 in June. Three of the cases in January occurred in the EastWard,
and were traced as taking the infection from others that
took place in this locality in December of last year.
All the other cases were located in various parts of the district,
every possible enquiry was made in each case as to origin of contagion,
and measures were adopted to prevent the spread of the
disease. Three cases occurred in one house, and two of them
were tailoresses going out to work, notice was at once given to
the employers, and especial enquiry from time to time was made
to see if others from this establishment contracted the disease,
but no other cases occurred.
The lodging house, Mile End Road, was responsible for five
cases, the bedding and rooms were disinfected and the latter
closed for one month; the police, who at that time had these
places under their regulations, co-operated with us to prevent the
spread of the disease. One of the above cases I found sitting on
my door step with the Small Pox rash well developed, this
occurred soon after the outbreak at the before-mentioned establishment,
he complained to me that he could not gain readmission
owing to his being unwell, I promptly conveyed him to our
Shelter in Globe Road, for a few hours whilst the ambulance
was procured. I may here mention that this Shelter was of
great use to us during this epidemic, several families were removed
there whilst their houses were properly disinfected. With regard
to vaccination it was extremely difficult to find out if the adults
had been vaccinated, in the seven cases under twelve, three of
them were unvaccinated, whilst four were believed to be
vaccinated. The disease was in almost all the cases of a mild
type and only caused death in four instances, all of which were
unvaccinated.
SCARLET FEVER.
The number of cases of this disease notified during the last
twelve months was 578, about half the number notified in 1893.
The epidemic was present during the whole of the year and
spread over the whole of London, the Northern districts being
most severely attacked; at one period the pressure became so
great on the Fever Hospitals that a number of cases which would
otherwise have been removed had to be treated at their homes,
happily this was only for a short time. The disease in our district
was of a very mild type, and was so evenly spread over
the whole of the Hamlet that it was found impossible to trace
it to any definite source, although the fact of the mildness of the