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39
Report of the County Medical Officer—General.
The remaining three human cases arose in two shops, one in Mitcham and the other in Croydon,
supplied by the wholesale firm and owned by a local butcher. On the 12th December the manager
of the Mitcham shop (C. T., referred to above) noticed a small pustule on his neck ; he had a headache
during the day. On the 14th December he became worse, vomited, and his neck became more swollen.
After consulting a doctor the patient was removed to Guy's Hospital on the 15th December, where the
ulcer was excised and the patient received an injection of serum. Death ensued on the 17th December.
As stated previously, an autopsy showed that death was due to anthrax.
The fourth person infected was the son of the proprietor of the shop in Mitcham, who supervised
the management of the business. He saw the manager (C. T.) during the latter's illness, prior to his
removal to hospital, and examined the pustule. A few days later (17th December) the proprietor's son
developed a pustule which was found to be due to anthrax ; he fortunately recovered.
The fifth human case occurred in the person of one of the employees at another branch of the
butcher's shop in Croydon. He developed anthrax on the 17th December and recovered under specific
treatment.
On the 17th December a horse in the yard behind the wholesale shop in Croydon died from
anthrax. The firm to which the animal belonged had engaged to supply horses to remove carcases
from the wholesale to the retail shops, and actually did so during the week ended 12th December.
Exhaustive enquiries were made by Dr. Veitch Clark, Medical Officer of Health of Croydon, but the
cause of the original infection could not be traced.
As stated in last year's annual report a Committee, appointed by the Home Secretary, has been
enquiring into the dangers of infection from anthrax in connection with sorting, willeying, washing,
combing, and carding wool, goat hair and camel hair and in processes incidental thereto. The Committee
had not reported at the end of 1914.
Glanders.
Glanders in human beings was made a notifiable disease under the Public Health (London) Act,
1891, by order of the Council on 6th April, 1909. No cases of human glanders were notified during
1914 and there is nothing to add to the remarks with reference to this disease which appear in the Annual
Report for 1913.
Plague and Cholera.
No cases of plague or cholera have occurred in London in 1914.
Pemphigus Neonatorum.
It is the practice of the Inspectors under the Midwives Act to visit all cases of this disease brought
to their notice as it is now recognised that it is very infectious, and cases may prove fatal if not properly
and satisfactorily treated. During the year 29 cases came under notice; of these 3 died. In the majority
of cases the onset of the illness occurred within the first week after birth, the duration of the disease
being from two to eight weeks. It has not always been possible to obtain material for bacteriological
examination, but in the six instances in which this was done gonococci were found in one and staphylococci
in five.
Meteorology.