View report page

In addition to the above, eight cases of smallpox and several suspects for observation were
removed to the Port of London Sanitary Authority's Hospital at Denton, from vessels arriving in the
Port from abroad.
Two of these cases and two suspects were on board the Hospital Ship "Suevic," which arrived
at Gravesend on the 14th May from Bombay, seven cases of smallpox having been previously landed at
various ports en route—viz., Suez (2), Gibraltar (3), and Southampton (2). The outbreak originated
in Bombay, where the vessel stayed from the 2nd to 17th April. All the cases occurred among the crew.
The ship carried 1,000 invalids, both military and civilian. General vaccination of passengers and crew
was carried out and all preventive measures taken. The military and civilian passengers were disembarked
at Southampton on the 12th May, and the names and addresses of those proceeding to London
and elsewhere were communicated to the Medical Officers of Health concerned.
Another case was transferred from the S.S. "Katoomba," a transport vessel which arrived at
Gravesend on the 9th June. The vessel had carried large numbers of troops for dispersal, as well as
civilians, from India and Egypt. An outbreak of smallpox occurred among the troops and civilians
in the Mediterranean, and general vaccination was carried out on board. The vessel arrived, on the
7th June, at Plymouth, where disembarkation took place. The passengers proceeded at once to their
destinations, and the troops were sent to various dispersal camps. Some hundreds came to the Crystal
Palace, where they were demobilised. The names of civilian and military passengers and the addresses
to which they were proceeding were communicated to the Medical Officers of Health concerned.
On the 23rd April, 5 cases of smallpox and 1 suspicious case were removed to Denton Hospital
from the s.s. "Culna," which had arrived at Gravesend from Bombay. The rash in each case appeared
about two days before the vessel arrived in the port. The ship was at Suez on the 6th April, and it was
probably there that the disease was contracted. The Medical Officers of Health concerned were informed
of the names and addresses of passengers and crew leaving the ship.
Apart from the close watch kept upon smallpox infected vessels coming into the Port of London,
co-operation has been maintained with Port Sanitary Authorities in other parts of the country, as
evidence of which it may be mentioned that particulars of upwards of 1,100 possible contacts of smallpox,
from 40 different vessels arriving in this country from abroad, were received from the Medical
Officers of Health of the ports concerned. The names and addresses were communicated to the Medical
Officers of Health of the districts affected, including many outside the administrative county. The
Public Health Department of the Council has also been in close touch with the Ministry of Health in
connection with the prevention of spread of smallpox. The position of London as the centre of international
trade renders it especially desirable that its public health organisation and the health services
of other local authorities in the country, particularly at the ports, should be in close touch and that there
should be free interchange of information. The local authorities of three contiguous areas (East Ham,
Essex and Middlesex) have made formal application for the services of the Council's smallpox expert in
the diagnosis of suspected cases of the disease, and the Council has agreed to these applications. Dr.
Wanklyn has already visited a number of cases in the areas in question.
The fact that no serious outbreaks of smallpox or other dangerous epidemic disease occurred in