View report page

33
lived at Leyton, and had suffered from a modified attack of
small-pox, the origin of which I have been unable to
trace. He was well vaccinated in infancy. When I saw him he
had recovered, and therefore I did not notify him. But I am
disposed on the whole to think that E. P., who sickened on June
17th, was the first case in the group; that S. A. P. contracted
infection from him (or both of them from a common source); and
that B. L. and S. W. B. were secondary cases deriving their
infection from E. P. and S. A. P. All possible steps were taken,
including prompt removal, disinfection and re-vaccination (22
employees in this one printing office being vaccinated). I also
visited another printing works where S. A. P. had been at work
whilst infectious, and disinfection and re-vaccination were similarly
carried out there. I desire to record my appreciation of the great
assistance we received from the managers at these two works in the
investigations, &c. I may here add that E. P.'s doctor, and he
himself, did not agree with my view, and believed that he had not
had small-pox. I maintained that he had, and warned him to
advise his relatives, and the young woman (A. Y.) to whom he was
engaged to be married, to be re-vaccinated. He did not accept my
advice. Now, it is interesting to observe the subsequent history,
(a) E. P. returned to work and was the only man in that printing
office who declined re-vaccination, although he was returning to
infected surroundings from which I re-moved another man five days
later with whom he worked. I believed him to be safe because he
had just had small-pox. He remained perfectly well, which is
prima facie evidence that he had had small-pox. (b) But A. Y., as
far as can be judged, passed through a mild attack of unrecognised
small-pox, and E. P.'s sister (C. P.) also contracted the disease from
him. My view, therefore, receives abundant confirmation that
E. P. had small-pox in mild form, from which he was recovering
when I examined him, and he introduced the disease into Finsbury
from Leyton. The total number of cases taking infection from
him was five.
Second Group (Cases 7, 9, 10, 11).—The other cases which
we have had in Finsbury are set out in the table below and call for
little comment. The Pine Street group consisted of the mother and