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12
Section II.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
Small-pox.—Six cases of small-pox were notified during the year,
namely—1 in North Chelsea and 5 in South Chelsea. A case was also
notified as small-pox in December, and was removed to the M.A.B.
Isolation Wharf, but was returned home on the following day as a case
of chicken-pox. The six cases occurred in 4 houses, namely—3 in one
house (husband and wife notified on the same day, and three weeks later
a sister of the wife's, who had declined re-vaccination), and a single case
in each of the three other houses. Threa of the cases occurred in
March, 2 in April, and 1 in June. The period elapsing between the
onset of the disease and notification was in 1 case, 2 days, in I case 3
days, in 1 case 4 days, and in 3 cases 5 days. The patient was removed
to hospital on the same day the case was notified in 5 instances, and on
the following day in one instance. The period of detention in hospital
ranged from 25 to 53 days, and averaged 37 days for the 6 cases. All
the patients recovered, the type of the disease appearing to be distinctly
milder than during the epidemic period 1901-2. The ages of the
patients were 15 years, 25 years, 26 years (2), 31 years, and 53 years,
4 being males and 2 females. Five of the patients had been vaccinated
in infancy, but one presented no scars. Only one of the cases, a man
of 53, had been revaccinated, and that many years ago. The unvaccinated
case was that of a girl of 15, but she had a short attack, being only
detained 31 days in hospital. There was no history of infection in 4
cases. In addition to the unvaccinated girl of 15, who contracted the
infection from her married sister, there was a history of infection in one
other case. This was the case of a man of 26, not revaccinated, who
had been at work in the erection of a temporary small hospital in
County Durham, such temporary hospital being in close proximity to
a hospital occupied by convalesing small-pox patients. This man was
attacked with small-pox 4 days after his return home to Chelsea.
Revaccination was offered to the other inmates of the invaded
houses over the age of 10 years, and was accepted in 10 instances.
Three unvaccinated children were vaccinated; and 4 other persons
residing in the neighbourhood, who had visited invaded houses, were
revaccinated. There was no extension of the disease from the primarily
invaded houses to other persons, except in the case of the unvaccinated
girl of 15 previously alluded to.
Small-pox in London.—In London, during the year 1903,417 cases
of small-pox were notified in the various Boroughs as against 7797 cases
in 1902. There were 38 cases in the first quarter of the year, 162 in
the second quarter, 121 in the third quarter, and 96 in the fourth
quarter. Chelsea's proportion of the total London cases according to
its population is 7 cases, and 6 were actually notified. The case
mortality or percentage of deaths to attacks of the 417 London cases
was only 3.1 per cent, in 1903, as compared with a fatality of 16.4 per
cent, during the epidemic period of 1901-2.