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strong anti-vaccinationists. No medical man was called
in until after death, and upon the Inspector of Nuisances
calling the next day he found the room in which the
body lay filled with the neighbours, amongst whom, in
a fortnight, seven fresh cases broke out, all having
had direct communication with the house in which the
first case occurred. At this time another unvaccinated
child, belonging to the family first mentioned, was
brought from Lambeth with Small-pox, fully developed,
this latter was sent to the hospital. This case was followed
by four fatal cases in the locality, three being
unvaccinated children and one an adult, vaccination
unknown. All these cases were concealed from the
Sanitary Authorities until death had occurred, and in
the case of the adult a wake followed, with the result
that two persons in the house took the disease, also two
brothers-in-law and a sister-in-law, who died; and, in
addition, the landlord of the neighbouring public-house,
who supplied the spirituous consolations to the mourners.
The latter also died, and communicated the disease to
his wife, who was prematurely delivered of a stillborn
child.
Altogether between 30 and 40 cases of Small-pox
arose from this single wake, and stringent measures were
taken to arrest the further spread of the disease.
By permission of the Vaccination Department I
established a temporary station for re-vaccination in the
middle of the infected locality, and re-vaccinated nearly
the whole of the hitherto unaffected population. The
outbreak of Small-pox ceased at once, and although it
continued to affect other parts of the parish and the
Metropolis generally, hardly another case occurred in
this locality.
The report of the Inspector of Nuisances of houses
disinfected after Small-pox and other infectious fevers,
which here follows, illustrates the great success which
has attended disinfection by the fumes of burning
sulphur, causing an abundant evolution of sulphurous
acid gas, which effectually destroys all organic germs,
whether in the walls, ceilings, or floors of the rooms,