Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Annual report for 1902 of the Medical Officer of Health
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For the further promotion of re-vaccination within the Borough,
the Public Health Committee, early in February, issued a leaflet on
the desirability of all persons seeking protection against small-pox by
re-vaccination, and this leaflet was delivered by hand at every house in
the Borough.
The following Table shows the vaccinations and re-vacoinations carried out in the Borough, exclusive of the above, at the cost of the Rates, for the years ended 29th September, 1902, and 29th September, 1901. TABLE XV.
| Primary Vaccinations. | Re-Vaccinations. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year of age. | Over 1 year of age. | Total. | Total | |
| 1901 | 683 | 64 | 747 | 72 |
| 1902 | 799 | 682 | 1481 | 4514 |
No figures are available to show the number of vaocinations and
re-vaccinations carried out by private medical practitioners, and not
falling on the Rates. The numbers re-vaccinated amongst the wealthier
classes in the Borough were, no doubt, large. In a house in the extreme
east of the Borough, where one of the men-servants was attacked with
small-pox, all the other inmates of the house, 11 in number, had been
recently re-vaccinated. This man-servant was the only person in the
house not re-vaccinated. His attack was a severe one and he died in
hospital.
By the kindness of a lady in Chelsea, who placed a sum of money
at my disposal for the purpose of promoting vaccination in the Borough,
it was possible to get a large number of the inmates of the common
lodging houses in Chelsea re-vaccinated. This work was commenced on
the 7th March, shortly after the occurrence of the 3 cases in the
common lodging house in Smith-street, this being the first house taken
in hand. The work was continued almost nightly for a fortnight, when
it was found that 211 male inmates and 22 female inmates in Chelsea
common lodging houses had been re-vaccinated. The cost per head
worked out very close upon 2s. 6d., this including the initial monetary
inducement, and compensation for disablement in a certain small
proportion of oases (15 per cent.) The comparatively small sum spent
in this way had, I think, a most beneficial effect. The spread of
small-pox in the common lodging houses was arrested at a time when
further cases might have been anticipated, and a class of people specially