View report page

cases of the disease occurred. The names and addresses of
persons living in other Boroughs who had been in contact with
cases in this Borough, were similarly forwarded to the Medical
Officer of Health of the district concerned.
At the commencement of the outbreak the whole of the staff
who were likely to be in any way brought into contact with cases
of this disease were advised to be vaccinated or revaccinated, as
the case might be, and I am pleased to say that all of them took
the advice and got themselves revaccinated, except one who had
had an attack of Small-pox previously, hence no case of Small-pox
has occurred amongst the persons engaged in dealing with the
disease in this Borough.
I think that it is only just that I should here place on record
my feeling of great indebtedness to each member of my staff
engaged upon this work for the way in which they have at all
times, no matter whether on Sundays or at any hour during the
day or night, carried out their duties in a most satisfactory manner,
and this without any extra remuneration in any way, and I am
quite sure that this has been no small factor in thus limiting, to
quite reasonable dimensions, what gave promise of being a
severe outbreak.
During the course of the outbreak various defects in the general
administrative machinery were revealed, and a conference of representatives
from all the Metropolitan Boroughs was held to consider
the question. The Conference almost unanimously decided
that the time had arrived when the duty of administering the
preventive measures against Small-pox, should be transferred from
the present administrators and placed in the hands of Sanitary
Authorities who, at the present time, are charged with all other
preventive duties.