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31
Small-pox.—Two eases of this disease were notified in Westminster
during the year, both males, aged 37 and 15 respectively, residing in
industrial dwellings which generally lend themselves to the rapid spread
of infection. The latter case was only discovered when the disease was
well advanced and the rash fully out. It was then found that he was
still being employed as a messenger at a large factory in Westminster.
Although there were many contacts, no further case was reported in
Westminster, but this lad had infected three other people in the same
factory before being moved to hospital. Ihe other case had been
treated for blood poisoning in a hospital where a previous case of smallpox
was in the same ward. This patient had been discharged from that
hospital undiagnosed. Information was received from the various Port
Sanitary Authorities of 142 contacts. The names of all contacts are
circulated by the Port Sanitary Authorities to the various districts to
which they intend to proceed. This only applied, until recently, to
persons remaining on the vessel until it reached a port in this country,
the contacts who left the ship en route and proceeded overland were
entirely lost sight of and could not be traced.
Vaccination.—The Vaccination Officer informs me that the following
number of persons were vaccinated by the Public Vaccinators during the
year
Primary 1,291
Secondary .. .. .. .. 182
These figures do not include vaccinations and re-vaccinations done
by private practitioners. No vaccination was done by the Medical
Officer of Health under the Public Health (Small-pox Protection Regulations,
1917).