London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Kensington 1902

Annual report on the health, sanitary condition, etc., etc., of the Royal Borough of Kensington for the year1902

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Case 8 (No. 1 Report, 1902, page 4). A public-house manager, thought to be suffering from
chicken-pox, infected a barmaid, who fell ill of small-pox in another borough.
Case 10 (No. 1, page 5). A woman who had previously had small-pox was infected by her
husband. *
Case 17 (No. 1, page 6). A young woman infected by her fiancé in another Borough.
Case 18 (No. 1, page 6). An infant infected by a relation on a visit from Grays, Essex,
who also infected his own children.
Case 19 (No. 1, page 6). A young woman who came home ill, having been infected in
another Borough.
Case 21 (No. 2, page 22). A woman, who had slept one night only at a common lodginghouse
in the borough, was, two days afterwards, removed to hospital from the infirmary, to
which she had been sent for observation.
Case 26 (No. 2 Report, page 23). A woman who paid one visit to her son in another
borough, prior to his removal to hospital.
Case 27 (No. 2 Report, page 23). A man notified as suffering from chicken-pox.
Cases 34 to 36 (No. 3 Report, page 57). Three men, who gave false addresses; one of
them was traced to his wife's residence in another borough (where he infected his wife and
her father); one unknown at the address given, a common lodging-house, and a third a lodger,
for one night only, at the same house.
Case 37 (No. 3 Report, page 58). A child, aged 5, treated at home for an illness transient
and trivial, had only two spots on the face.
Case 45 (No. 2 Report, page 58). A man treated at home; disease diagnosed an hour or
two before death.
Case 46 (No. 3, page 59). An operative baker, who was infected by a fellow workman at
an underground bakehouse in another borough.
Case 66 (No. 5 Report, page 97). A woman infected by her brother (an unrecognised
case) in another district.
Case 69 (No. 5 Report, page 97). A man removed from a general hospital, having recently
come from Dartford, an infected district.
Case 80 (No. 6 Report, page 107). A woman in domestic service who had recently come
from another borough.
Case 86 (No. 6 Report, page 107). A laundry woman infected by a fellow worker with
whom she lived.
Case 87 (No. 6 Report, page 107). A tailor infected by a fellow-workman in another
borough.
A feature in the above cases, grouped and individual, is that the "contacts," or secondary
cases, were in nearly every instance infected before any notification of illness in the primary cases
was received. In very few instances were there any secondary cases who had become infected after
the receipt of the notification of the primary cases.
In 27 cases the sufferers were infected in other districts, and, arising out of these, there were
a number of secondary cases.
In about 48 cases the source of infection could not be traced, but several of these were
imported cases. All the common lodging-house primary cases were imported.
Preventive Measures.— In the first rank of measures for the prevention of spread of
disease comes—
Isolation, which was secured in nearly every case by the removal of the patient to Hospital.
The removal was effected in 73 cases by medical practitioners, on their own applications and
certificates, under the unique system which has been in operation in Kensington since 1887—the
Sanitary Authority paying a small fee for the service. In 28 cases the patients were removed by
the department, usually upon the notification certificate. Five cases, in 1902, were not removed
to hospital: viz., a public-house manager, whose illness had been diagnosed as chicken-pox (case 8,
No. 1 Report, page 4) ; an omnibus proprietor, whose case (45, No. 3 Report, page 58) was reported
after death; a gentleman (case 12, No. 1 Report, page 5); a woman (case 53, No. 4 Report,
page 85), the nature of whose illness was not recognised; and a child, well isolated, and scarcely at
all ill (case 37, No. 3 Report, page 58).