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63
1. Finsbury cases by residence and infection 225
2. Finsbury cases by infection 31
3. Finsbury cases by residence 18
4. Cases from common lodging houses 13
5. Cases homeless, or giving false addresses or about
whom no information could be obtained 29
6. Cases probably not phthisis 6
7. Not Finsbury cases 97
419
The cases, which may be definitely associated with the Borough,
are the first two groups, and amount to 256, that is, to 61 per
cent, of the whole number.
The Finsbury cases by residence had definite signs of the
disease before living in the Borough.
Very little information could be obtained about the cases from
common lodging houses. These patients are generally nomadic
and homeless.
Here are the movements of one such case:—He lived in
Battersea for 15 years and then took to the road for a few
years, staying in common lodging houses for one or two days
at a time. Then he settled down in Bristol for 8 weeks, went
on to Plymouth for 6 weeks, tramped to Liskeard and stayed 6
weeks. Next he came to the Salvation Army Home, Bermondsey,
and remained 3 weeks, came on to the Church Army Home in
Finsbury and stayed 3 days.
Twenty-nine of the cases were homeless, or gave false Finsbury
addresses, sometimes the address of a brother, sister, daughter,
brother-in-law, friend, or casual acquaintance. They sought by
this means to achieve a Finsbury settlement, so as to obtain
admission to the local workhouse infirmary.
The " cases probably not phthisis " were those notified by
school doctors and thereafter re-examined by experts in the large
general hospitals,who failed to find evidence of the disease.