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From the 1st January until the 31st December the amount of the impurity at
noon has varied from half a milligramme to six milligrammes per cubic metre of air ;
this latter figure includes times when there has been a fog.
It is interesting to compare the results of similar observations made at other
places, as for example, Malvern and Sheffield, where results are widely divergent.
The value of the work being carried on in connection with the examination of the
atmosphere in the City is evident, and the details recorded indicate the necessity
of its continuation.
VISIT OF CZECHO.SLOVAK MEDICAL COMMISSION.
At the request of the Ministry of Health the Medical Commission of the Czechoslovak
Government which visited the country in the early part of the year were
shown some matters of administrative public health interest in the City.
The following is a brief resume of the itinerary:—On the 14th February the
Commission left the Guildhall in a motor omnibus for the Central Meat Market,
Smithfield, where on arrival they were conducted over the Markets and their
attention directed to certain of the stalls of special interest. The main object was
to display the great variety of imported food products which London receives,
and samples from most of the exporting countries were available for inspection.
The Cold Air Stores were next visited and the methods of transportation explained.
Subsequently the riverside wharves were seen where the visitors were
most impressed by the enormous trade in imported foodstuffs which the great
stores indicated. The methods adopted in the inspection of tinned and dried
foodstuffs were also demonstrated.
The Commission then returned to Guildhall for luncheon where they were
received and entertained by Alderman Sir CharlesCheersWakefield. Afterluncheon
a visit was paid to the new works of the Smithfield Animal Products Co., Ltd., at
Stratford, the Contractors to the Corporation for the destruction of unsound meat.
After tea at Guildhall the Commission retired apparently satisfied with the
efforts which had been made on their behalf.
BACILLUS OF TETANUS IN VASELINE.
In April my attention was directed by Dr. MacFadden of the Ministry of
Health to the reported death of an infant at Portsmouth from Tetanus Neonatorum,
and it was suggested that infection had been received from Vaseline which had
been used. Examinations had been made of the Vaseline, which in all cases were
found to be sterile, but occasionally organisms had been found in caps covering the
Vaseline and on the adjacent surfaces of the Vaseline.
With a view to ascertaining the position so far as the City was concerned I
caused six purchases of vaseline to be made and submitted to the City Bacteriologist.,
Sir Frederick Andrewes, for examination. His report thereon is as follows:—
"Six pots, numbered 22—27, were received on April 26th, 1921. One was a collapsible
"tube, and in the screw cap was a small cardboard disc. The other five were glass pots with
"metal screw lids without any paper discs on them. I may say here, that in November, 1920,
"I examined a number of pots for the C M Co., and found tetanus
"spores and other anaerobes in 50 per cent. of the paper discs in the lids of the pots, but none
"in vaseline itself. The Company removed all paper discs from the pots thenceforward sent
"out, and the present samples prove this.
"The technique employed was the same as I had previously used, viz., mass cultivation
"in broth containing chopped meat. Of the six vaselines, four proved sterile, one specimen
"grew a coccus and one an undetermined bacillus : no anaerobes were present in any. The
"cardboard disc in the collapsible tube yielded a growth of B. Mesentericus ruber but no
"anaerobes. As there were no paper discs in the lids of the other pots I swabbed the inner
"surfaces of the lids and cultivated them. The wool which I used for swabbing was believed
"to be sterile, but control cultures showed that it contained B. mesentericus. This organism
"therefore grew in all the cultures from the swabs, but this would not have prevented the
"growth of anaerobes—rather the reverse. In four out of the five lids no anaerobes grew.
"The broths remained clear except on the surface and there was no offensive smell. In one
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