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The other 5 deaths were amongst the 20 cases in the Cainden-road
group (where there were doubtless other cases of illness which, had they
become known, would have greatly reduced the apparent death-rate in this
group) 2 of these 5 deaths being in one family.
I am indebted to a medical practitioner of Camden-town for the first
information upon this subject, and to him my best thanks are due for his
communications.
This outbreak was at first the cause of some anxiety. Happily, the more
serious portion was confined to a limited area, and extended only over a short
space of time—the 41 cases chiefly occurring during the last two weeks of the
month of August, and the first week of September.
The outbreak, however, was watched with great care, and both inspection
and report were made in every case. Cisterns have been cleansed, sanitary
defects have been remedied, and a thorough disinfection has been effected in
every case which has come to our knowledge; and in respect to disinfection, I
may add, that it has been done in the face of much opposition, many
medical men still holding the opinion that Typhoid Fever is not infectious,
except within certain defined limits.
As regards the causes of the outbreak, the two blocks of lodging-houses
recently referred to (each of which contains 63 dwellings or separate tenements)
have afforded me the opportunity of testing in a certain limited way
the question how far this portion of the outbreak was due to infected Milk.
Of the 63 dwellings in the City Arms Buildings, 60 were occupied, 53 of
these being supplied with Milk by one dealer not previously mentioned. In 5
Condensed Milk was used, and in 2 the Milk was supplied by other dealers,
but in none of these 60 dwellings did any case of Typhoid Fever occur.
57 dwellings in the Queen's Arms Buildings were occupied. Out of these,
23 were supplied with milk by the Mr. X., already referred to, the result being
that 21 cases of Typhoid Fever occurred in 15 of these 23 dwellings, only 8
escaping. In respect to the remaining 34 dwellings, where no Typhoid
occurred, it was found that 21 derived their Milk supply from other dealers,
that in 11 Condensed Milk was used, and that in 2 no Milk was received.
There appears, therefore, to my mind, no doubt that that part of the
Typhoid outbreak, comprised in the 40 cases located on the borders of Saint
Pancras, may reasonably be assumed to have resulted from infected Milk
supplied by the Vendor previously called Mr. X. But when, further, we
consider the unusual extent of the disease in Saint Pancras, combined with
the facts that the earliest cases in point of time are seldom known or traced,