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11
Enteric Fever.
The number of cases of enteric fever notified in Chelsea in 1920
was 5, as against 2 in 1919. There was one death. Three of the cases
were removed to hospital. One of the cases arrived in Chelsea, ill of
the disease, from East Africa. In one case the cause of the illness was
attributed to water-cress. Four specimens of blood were examined for
the Widal reaction, and all proved negative.
Paratyphoid Fever.
Three cases of paratyphoid fever were notified in 1920, as against
5 in 1919. All three cases were removed to hospital. There were no
deaths. In one case the disease was probably contracted in Sussex.
In another case—a boy of 13 years—the father was stated to have had
paratyphoid when in Salonica. One blood examined showed the presence
of paratyphoid B. organism.
Diarrhoea and Enteritis.
The deaths in Chelsea from diarrhoea and enteritis in 1920 were 12,
7 being infants under one year of age, 3 being children of one to five
years, and two being adults. None of the deaths occurred in the third
or summer quarter of the year. In 1919 there were 17 deaths from these
diseases, and in 191B 11 deaths. In connection with these diseases,
79 visits were made to homes, and 31 cases were as a result, discovered.
There was one death from dysentery of a Chelsea resident, which occurred
outside the Borough.
Malaria.
Two cases of malaria in ex-soldiers were notified in 1920. In one
case the first attack was in India six years ago ; in the other the first
attack was in Mesopotamia in 1916. This latter patient returned home
in October, 1919, and remained almost continually under military treatment
until May, 1920. He was notified in that month.
Small-pox.
In January a sergeant in the B.A.M.C., who lived in Chelsea, was
notified as suffering from small-pox, and was removed to hospital. In
May a student at Whiteland's College was notified. She was removed
to the M.A.B. South Wharf on the 10th May, but was sent to the London
Fever Hospital on the 12th May as a case of measles. As a precautionary
measure all the contacts of the case at the college, and a considerable
proportion of the students and staff were re-vaccinated.
Influenza.
Influenza caused only 10 deaths in Chelsea in 1920, as against 104
in 1919, and 234 in 1918. In London there were 1,364 deaths in 1920,
of which number all but 219 occurred in the first six months of the year.
In 1919 there were 4,222 deaths from this disease in London, and in
1918 there were 12,927 deaths. Only three cases of influenzal pneumonia
were notified in Chelsea in the year. The Nurses paid 138 visits
to eight patients suffering from influenzal pneumonia, the average number
of visits per patient being 17.-