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63
Notification of all cases to the Vestry.
Isolation of all cases in Hospital.
Thorough disinfection of all premises (including the suspected
mangles).
Quarantining of suspected persons over the incubation period.
Thorough flushing of the gullies in the infected area.
It cannot be too strongly emphasised how desirable it is to have
exact diagnosis, and how important it is to isolate in Hospital all
cases of typhoid—home isolation (at least, in such a neighbourhood
as the one being dealt with in this Report) being practically
impossible.
Careful inquiries were made in all cases as to infection through
the well-known channels, e.g., milk, water, defective drains (the
drains being tested in each case), eating of oysters, mussels, and
other shellfish, fried fish, ice-creams, watercress, etc. There was
no reason for supposing that the schools had been in any way concerned
in spreading the disease, though it is clearly important to
keep children from typhoid-infected houses away from school.
Further, the houses in the streets mentioned are in fair condition,
whilst, strange to say, houses in neighbouring streets which
have been condemned, are free from typhoid, proving that the
origin of the outbreak is at least not due to the state of the houses
themselves. The neighbouring streets are Pascal Street and
Portland Cottages, where 58 houses have been condemned as unfit
for human habitation, and are now in process, slow though it be,
of being made habitable, 21 houses having been (up to date)
satisfactorily completed.
The results of inquiries as to the ordinary well-known channels
of infection proving negative (except, perhaps, the one case
already mentioned, viz., Edward W.), I was driven to find some
other source of infection which, I think, is satisfactorily proved
by the details given in the Report—at least, as far as such inquiries
admit of proof.
Praise is due to the Inspectors engaged on the work of houseto-house
inspection and inquiry, as also to the Medical Men in
attendance, for allowing me to examine doubtful cases of illness