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HO
During the present epidemic the majority of the cases,
both in London and country, have been traced to the tramo
class, who have no fixed residence.
The strongest evidence in support of this is the following
report from the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital
Ships to the Managers of the Asylums Board, to that
effect
"Of the cases which have been admitted recently
(January), comparatively few have been persons with a
settled residence. The sources of infection in these cases,
except in a few instances where more than one person of
the same family or household has been attacked, have not
been discovered, and the disease has no doubt been contracted
in a chance way by such persons coming in contact
with infected persons in the streets or elsewhere. I wish
to point out that the disease has yet got but little hold
upon the settled population of London. It has been imported
by tramps and others from the provinces, and such
importation is continuing, is likely to continue, and cannot
be prevented. This class, which so far has been almost
entirely affected, is the vagrant class; and the disease is
being spread by persons of this class coming in coutact with
one another in the casual wards of Workhouses and other
places. In most of the cases the disease appears to have
been contracted in one of the casual wards, and many have
been sent here from casual wards and workhouse infirmaries.
It is useless for me to supply you with information about
such cases, because, owing to the migratory habits of these
persons, it is difficult to say in which particular casual ward
the disease was contracted, and because you may take it
that almost every casual ward in London is acting as a
source of infection."