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52
necessary precautions may be taken within the next two or three hours. As
a prevention of any oversight in London cases, within the next two or three
days the London County Council circulates amongst the Medical Officers of
Health of the Metropolis the history of each case of small-pox as furnished to
them by the Medical Officer of Health in whose Borough the case occurred.
In the Annual Report for the year 1902, page 32, it was reported, as the
result of the experience of the small-pox epidemic, as follows:—
"It became apparent that additional provisions are required for dealing
with contacts in the prevention of the spread of small-pox and upon
these lines:—
(1) That it be declared an offence to refuse or withhold
tion or give false information with respect to persons living
in a house in which small-pox has broken out, with regard
to their names, employment, or occupation, schools attended
by their children, or as to any person not living in such
house but employed therein.
(2) That it be provided that any person inhabiting any part of a
house in which a case of small-pox breaks out, who knowingly
associates with other persons, without having his or
her own person and clothes cleansed and disinfected, be
liable to a penalty.
(3) That in laundries the examining, sorting or marking of dirty
linen be prohibited by the Home Office as dangerous, under
the Factory and Workshop Acts, until after it has been
effectually disinfected by boiling and washing in strong
soap and water, or by some other equally effectual means.
(4) That in common lodging houses and poor men's hotels, e.g.,
Rowton Houses, &c., when small-pox breaks out, inmates be
prohibited from leaving the house until after the expiration
of a fortnight from the date of removal of the patient,
except to be removed to a small-pox hospital or to a
quarantine station. Provided that this prohibition do not
apply to inmates that submit to immediate disinfection and
cleansing of their clothing and person, and undertake to
remain in residence at the house during the above-mentioned
period, and to submit themselves to medical examination
when required. Provided also that the Sanitary Authority
be empowered to make such compensation as they may
consider adequate to any inmates complying with any requirements
they may make.
(5) That small-pox hospitals be required by the Local Government
Board to provide an area of wider radius, free from
workers and residence.
So long as all the possible measures for the prevention of small-pox remain
unexhausted, so long will the opposition to vaccination remain; and
if it can be proved that the application of these measures of prevention
fail in actual practice, the stronger the case in favour of vaccination
and revaccination becomes."