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a "heavy cold," and, not troubling to see a doctor, went about
his work after a few days at home, as if nothing had happened.
In three instances there was reason to suspect that the cases
were wilfully concealed, in order to avoid removal to hospital,
and temporary loss of employment for the other inmates of
the house. In two of these cases wilful concealment, though
suspected, could not be proved, but in the third case the
evidence was stronger, and the offender was prosecuted, and
the maximum penalty —a fine of forty shillings—inflicted.
There were cases, too, where, although medical advice was
sought, the doctor, owing to lack of experience in Small-pox
cases, failed to make a correct diagnosis, and the nature of
the disease was not recognised until subsequent cases made
the diagnosis clear. Eight cases of Small-pox were treated
as cases of either Chicken-pox, Influenza or Syphilis. It is,
of course, not surprising that mistakes of diagnosis were
made. Small-pox is now happily a rare disease, and
comparatively few medical men have had any opportunity to
make themselves familiar with its clinical features.
Most of the cases occurred in groups, each group consisting
of a number of patients who contracted the disease directly or
indirectly from a common source of infection. The following
are examples of these groups of cases. The cases are
numbered in the order in which they were reported to, or
discovered by, the Medical Officer of Health:—
Group I. The first case notified in Battersea was removed
on October 12th, 1901. This patient had nursed her son, who
had had a mild attack of Small-pox and was treated for
Influenza, the nature of his complaint not being discovered until
his mother was taken ill, when he had become free from
infection. He was employed at a second-hand clothing
establishment in Soho, which was at that time an infected
area. Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 contracted the disease from Case 1.
Group II. Nos. 6 and 7 were notified on November 18th.
It appears they were taken ill on November nth, the rash
coming out on November 14th. They remained indoors,