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Cases of mistaken diagnosis are excluded from the above Table.
* Four cases of Puerperal Pyrexia were subsequently notified as Puerperal Fever and are included in this table under both
headings.
Small-Pox.—During the year 1929, one thousand one hundred and sixteen cases of small-pox
occurred in the London area and of these six cases proved fatal. Twenty-six of the twenty-nine
London Boroughs were affected.
Five cases of this disease occurred in Kensington, one at a residential hotel and four in
private houses. Four of the cases were of the mild type similar to that which was prevalent in
London during the year and one, which was contracted on board a ship returning from the East,
was very severe in character. Particulars of the cases are as follow.
Case A.—A female, aged seventeen years, fell ill the day after returning from a holiday in
the country, and the disease proved to be small-pox. It was of the mild type and the patient
was not confined to her bed. The patient recovered. Most of the contacts were re-vaccinated
at once; one, who refused, later contracted the disease.
Case B.—A female, aged twenty-one years, travelled from Bombay on the s.s. " Tuscania."
Several cases of small-pox occurred on board this boat and many cases developed in England
after the passengers had landed. The disease was of a very severe type and many patients died.
The Kensington patient came to a hotel in this Borough, developed small-pox and was removed
to hospital. The patient was very ill but recovered. All the staff and the majority of the
residents at the hotel were re-vaccinated.
Cases C and D.—A girl, aged six years, was found to be suffering from small-pox of a mild
type and removed to hospital. Enquiries made by the Public Health Department elicited the
fact that a youth in the same house had been ill two weeks previously and that his illness had
been diagnosed as chickenpox. A message was sent to the City where the youth was at work ;
he was examined by a medical man, found to be suffering from small-pox and promptly removed
to hospital. Both patients recovered. All the Kensington contacts were re-vaccinated.
Case E.—A female, aged seventy-three years, was removed to hospital suffering from
small-pox. This case was the contact referred to under Case A. The disease was of a mild type
and the patient recovered. All the contacts were re-vaccinated.
The total number of contacts of the above five cases and those cases which occurred elsewhere
numbered 455. These were kept under daily observation for eighteen days. The object of
repeatedly visiting these contacts is to secure prompt isolation before the patient becomes
infectious in the event of small-pox developing.
In the case of every small-pox contact, vaccination or re-vaccination was recommended as
a precautionary measure, if it had not already been carried out.
Scarlet Fever.—The number of cases notified during the year was 526, of which 472 were
removed to hospital.
The following table shows the number of cases notified in the various Wards in each four- *
weekly period during 1929:—