London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London

City of London 1913

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London, City of ]

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No. of Sample.Date of receipt.Cleanliness.Date of inoculation of guinea.pig.Date of the animal's death.Interval after inoculation.Condition of animal at death.Result as regards tubercle.
37Nov. 24Clean.Nov. 25Dead Dec. 2025 daysTuberculous abscess at site of inoculation. Inguinal, femoral and iliac glands caseous. Tubercle bacilli found. Early tubercles in spleen.Positive.
38”Clean”Killed Dec. 2934 daysSmall local abscess. Large caseous inguinal gland, with many tubercle bacilli. Solitary tubercles in lung and liver.Positive.
39”Trace of dirt”Killed Dec. 2934 daysSmall local abscess, with no tubercle bacilli. Glands barely enlarged, not caseous. Viscera normal.Negative.
40”Clean.”Killed Dec. 2934 daysNormal.Negative.
41”Clean”Killed Dec. 2934 daysLarge abscess between skin and abdominal muscles; no tubercle bacilli found. No caseation of glands. Viscera normal.Negative.
12”Clean”Dead Dec. 2631 daysLarge local abscess. No tubercle bacilli in pus. Glands unaffected. Viscera normal.Negative.
43Nov. 26CleanNov. 27Killed Dec. 2932 daysNormalNegative.
44”Clean.”Dead Dec. 1316 daysRemains of cream locally encapsuled. No tubercle bacilli found. Glands unaffected. Viscera normal.Negative.
45”Clean.”Killed Dec. 3034 daysNormalNegative.
46”Clean”Killed Dec. 3034 daysNormalNegative.
47”Clean”Killed Dec. 3034 daysNormalNegative.
48”Clean”Killed Dec. 3034 daysNormalNegative.

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SUMMARY AND REMARKS.
(1) As regards the presence of dirt, this series of Samples comes out very well. In
110 single case could I apply the term "dirty" to a sample, and the great majority
showed merely a scanty greyish deposit with only a few blackish specks, if any. Such
samples I have recorded as clean.
(2) As regards pathogenic effects. In each case a guinea.pig was inoculated
subcutaneously in the right thigh with a mixture of the cream and the sediment, after
the milk had been allowed to stand overnight in a cold place.
Of the 48 animals inoculated, 11 died spontaneously at periods varying
from 6 to 31 days after inoculation.
Of these 11 animals I could find no cause for death in two. Six died with
local abscesses, due to Staphylococci and Streptococci or coliform bacilli, and in
two of these there were secondary foci of suppuration. One animal died of
peritonitis and septicaemia, and one of Gartner infection. One died of tubercle.