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65
1937
was examined at the Ministry of Health Laboratory and the peas at the Bland
Sutton Institute.
Cases 11 to 20 were all traced to the consumption of food (ham or bacon) purchased
at a shop in Finsbury, in which Borough 82 persons were affected, 40 in
St. Pancras, 10 in Islington, and 1 each in Holborn and Bethnal Green. At the commencement
of the outbreak it was discovered that the sufferers had obtained ham
from a provision shop in the Borough of Finsbury and a thorough investigation of the
conditions under which the ham was prepared for sale was carried out. From the
investigations made by Dr. N. D. Dunscombe, Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury,
to whom I am indebted for notes of his enquiries, it appeared that the outbreak
was due to the food cooked at the shop in question being infected with the B. Enteritidis
Gaertner, the breakfast sausage and corned beef being infected secondarily
from infected knives or hands, but it was impossible to say with any certainty by
what means the food became first infected, although the possibility of infection
from a human source cannot be excluded.
Case No.21, was ascribed to fish, alleged to have been purchased, in
Caledonian Market, No.22 to kippers, No.23 to ham purchased at a cafe, No.24
to the consumption of dressed crab, No.25 to meat pie, and the last case notified,
No.26, was alleged to have been caused by pie made from cold meat which had
been kept in a refrigerator from Sunday until Wednesday, and made into a pie
with potatoes and green peas. It was ascertained that six persons living in various
parts of London were taken ill after partaking of this pie. A specimen of faeces
was sent to the Ministry of Health Laboratory, and Dr. Scott reported :
" I have failed to identify any of the usual pathogenic bacteria, but it is
curious that in all the specimens (except that of faeces from Mr.-, Hamp-
stead, which contained B. Coli only), a non-lactose-fermenting bacillus resembling
Morgan's bacillus was present. I cannot say whether this bacillus was the cause
or not, and as it agglutinates spontaneously in salt solution, I fear that any wider
tests would fail.
The specimens examined were:—
Shepherd's Pie ? Morgan +
Vomit Morgan +
Mr. -, Hampstead Morgan Negative.
Mrs. -, Hampstead Morgan +
Miss -, Lambeth Morgan +
Miss. -,Islington Morgan + "
PRESERVED FOOD AND ICE CREAM.
Registration of these premises was brought under the Public Health (London)
Act, 1936, Section 187, during the year 1936.
In 1936, 275 premises were on the register for preserved food ; five were registered
during the year 1937, and none was removed from the register. The total
on the register at the end of the year, therefore, was 280, all of which were visited.
The number of ice cream premises in 1936 was 494 ; 80 premises were removed
from the register in 1937, 66 additional registered, so that the ice cream premises
on the register at the end of the year numbered 480.