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36
ANTHRAX.
The s.s. "Golconda" arrived from Calcutta on August 29th, and discharged
her cargo in the Royal Albert Dock.
On Monday, September 20th, a barber was noticed to have a bandage round
his head, and on examination by a medical man, a suspicious looking sore
was seen.
The man was taken to the Seaman's Hospital, a branch of the Dreadnought
Hospital, in the Royal Albert Dock, where a microscopical examination was
made, and the man was found to be infected with the organism of Anthrax.
He was promptly removed to the Plaistow Fever Hospital.
The crew's quarters were disinfected as a matter of precaution.
Amongst the cargo were 90 bales of dried hides, and it is possible that one
of the hides came from an animal which had been infected with Anthrax.
The organism of Anthrax is a sporing bacillus, and the spores retain their
vitality in a dry state for a long period. It is possible that the man might
have had an abrasion of the skin, in which the spores of this bacillus settled,
where, under favourable circumstances, the bacillus multiplied, and infected
the man with the disease.
BERI-BERI.
I have continued to keep a record of these cases. The cause of this disease
is still uncertain, and a record of all cases reported is useful. During the
year under review these numbered 14, 11 of which occurred on one vessel from
New Orleans.
As I have pointed out in previous reports, the disease is of medical interest,
but it is not considered a dangerous, infectious disease in the commonly
accepted sense of the term.