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31
of a series of cases particulars of which are given in the Annual
Report for 1903.
In March a sudden outbreak began in boroughs in the east end of
London, but no cases originated from them in Westminster. Three
persons suffering from small-pox are known to have spent some time in
the City. 150 persons were notified to me in March as having been in
contact with cases, the greater number of these having been passengers
on ships. Each person is communicated with at the address given, and
occasionally it appears to be the first intimation they have had that they
have been exposed to infection. I received intimation from Southampton
of a large number of passengers who left a ship there on the 9th March,
but some days afterwards was informed from Lambeth that a steward
from the same ship had been found in Brixton suffering from small-pox,
and it appears he left the ship on Saturday, the 12th, with the eruption
out on his face, travelled up to London, and stayed the night and the
next day with friends in Westminster, proceeding on the Sunday evening
to the address he had given as his destination. A second case was that
of a man employed doing repairs in some buildings, and the third a
domestic servant employed by day in the City. The County Council
appointed two experts, who took up residence at 8, St. Martin's Place,
and were at the disposal of any practitioner desiring their assistance
until the beginning of November. The Council also resolved that
chicken-pox be again added to the list of notifiable diseases from
April 8th to November 7th.
In April two cases were notified to me; one a man who lived at the
extreme east of the City, and who had been employed at King's Cross
Station in unloading "return papers" from districts in the country in
which small-pox was rife. The other case was on the western boundary,
in the vicinity of Sloane Square; the patient was a traveller for a
grocery firm in the City of London, whereby he had opportunities for
receiving infection. Tn this case a number of persons who lodged in
the same house left on learning the nature of the complaint, but they
were eventually discovered and kept under observation. No subsequent
cases resulted from either patient.
In July the last case was notified to me; the person had moved
from the Borough of Shoreditch, and was taken ill the day after. The
Medical Officer of that Borough was communicated with, and a number
of cases were discovered there; fortunately no further cases have
followed in Westminster. The 6 persons attacked all recovered.
In August I was informed that a person who had visited a hotel in
the City was taken ill the day after his return to Bolton; the rooms
occupied by him were disinfected, and the staff of the hotel were
revaccinated. No cases followed in Westminster.