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Inspector Richards called, and to him S. V.'s presence was denied.
He searched the premises, and found the girl concealed in a henhouse
in the yard. She was removed to hospital on my certificate.
I have since ascertained that on each occasion these premises were
visited either by Mr. Richards or myself, S. V. was similarly concealed,
as she had a great dread of being taken away to hospital.
The case had not been notified (either as small pox or chicken pox)
by the person who had charge of S. V., and no doctor had been
called in. Altogether eight cases of small pox were directly traceable
to this one unreported case. By direction of the Public Health
Committee the person who had charge of the child was prosecuted
at Worship Street for failing to notify the case as required by
Sec. 55 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891. He was fined
twenty shillings and twenty-three shillings costs. In this instance
we were before Mr. Haden Corser and had the good fortune to
obtain a conviction, but here the same difficulty arose as in the
Baxendale Street case, we could not prove, except indirectly, that
the person in charge was aware of the disease from which the child
was suffering, and that he knowingly concealed the fact. I am
strongly of opinion that the Public Health Act should be amended
in the direction of requiring that the head of a family who has
reasonable cause to suspect that a person in his charge is suffering
from a dangerous infectious disease, should either report his suspicions
to Medical Officer of Health or call in a doctor, who
would confirm or disprove them.
Since the commencement of the epidemic in August last 510 cases
of true small pox have been reported to me from 327 houses ; in
addition to these, forty-one persons were incorrectly certified to be
suffering from small pox, and though removed to hospital were
returned to their homes after revaccination. Of these 41 persons
only one is known to have subsequently developed small pox, and
this case was a doubtful one.
The numbers notified week by week since August, 1901, are
shown on the chart herewith. All were removed to hospital, with
the exception of one man who died from haemorrhagic small pox
before the disease was recognised.