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77
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
munication with the Medical Officer of Health for the County of
Argyll with a view of ascertaining whether the water was sewage
polluted at a number of other places in the neighbourhood of
Loch Gilp Head, from which he was informed fishermen gather
fish consigned to Billingsgate.
This outbreak once more shows the necessity of further legislation
being necessary for the purpose of giving powers to Local
Authorities to inspect shefl-fish layings and to prohibit the sale of
shell-fish from polluted layings or beds.
In seven of the cases, one of which proved fatal, the patient
had partaken of watercress previous to the appearance of the
first symptoms, and in all the cases the watercress was purchased
from itinerant dealers whose identity was difficult to establish.
In six of the cases the infection was traced to a previous case
in the same house; all of these cases recovered; while of the nine
cases where the disease was contracted outside the Borough, one
was fatal.
In every case the drains of the houses were tested, but in
only four was any result obtained, while in all the other cases the
sanitary conditions were satisfactory.
Cases of Mistaken Diagnosis.
In 93 cases (47 of Scarlet Fever, 30 of Diphtheria, and 16 of
Enteric Fever), information was received from the Metropolitan
Asylums Board that the patients were not suffering from the disease
notified or any other notifiable disease, compared with 97 in
1905, 94 in 1904, and 106 in 1903.
Of the 1,386 cases of these diseases removed to hospital the
diagnosis in 93, or 6.7 per cent., was incorrect, compared with
5.2 per cent. in 1905, 10 in 1904, and 9.5 in 1903. Enteric Fever
is responsible for the highest percentage, viz., 30.1, and Scarlet
Fever the lowest, viz , 5.2.