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Report of the County Medical Officer—General.
53
X-ray photo showed on comparison with the previous one that the bone had been eaten away and a
finger was removed, the metacarpal being taken off where it was healthy and the whole treated as an
open wound. The infection still spread and after further operations vaccine treatment was again
tried, but the patient's condition necessitated its discontinuance after three doses and ultimately on
15th December, 1911, the arm was amputated above the elbow. Three days after this operation the
disease appeared in the right wrist and later in the left ankle and groin and later still in other parts of
the body. The bacillus mallei is stated to have been found in cultures taken in May, 1912, and during
June and July the patient was again treated with vaccine. Mr. Gaiger states that the vaccine was
apparently beneficial and that a quite noticeable effect was to bring doubtful places to a head more
quickly than would have been the case in the ordinary way. Operations were performed from time
to time during the course of vaccine treatment. It was noticed that sinuses healed much more
quickly after a bout of fever, provided it was short and not too high. Complete recovery was effected
on 25th June, 1913, although it is stated that the left ankle had not quite regained its former freedom
of movement.
Leprosy.
This disease is not endemic in Great Britain, such cases as occur either affect persons of foreign
origin or those who have been at some time in residence in foreign countries. In December, 1913, a
paragraph appeared in a newspaper to the effect that a case of leprosy had oceurred in London which
was attributed to the wearing of furs said to have been bought in Whitechapel. Enquiries were
made at the time, but no evidence was found to substantiate the report.
Cholera and Plague.
No case of Asiatic cholera or plague occurred in 1913, but a suspected case of cholera was reported
by the medical officer of health of Lambeth. In this case the patient was taken suddenly ill
at 5 a.m. on October 12th with symptoms of a very severe attack of gastric trouble, and at noon he
was in a collapsed condition. A specimen of the stools was sent to the Lister Institute for examination
the result proving negative. The patient subsequently recovered.
Meteorology.
The tables published in the Annual Summary of the Registrar-General, deduced from observations
at Greenwich under the superintendence of the Astronomer Royal, show that the mean temperature
of the air in 1913 was 51.3 deg. Fahrenheit, which is 1.8 degrees above the average of the preceding
70 years. The rainfall during the year amounted to 22.44 inches, being 1.68 inches below
the average of the preceding 65 years.