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re-vaccinated recently or agree to be vaccinated on admission. With such restrictions
the work of the Home should proceed more or less normally and in my own
view and that of the officers of the Ministry of Health without risk of spread of
infection.*
"Up to the present the quarantine imposed has been strictly enforced and the
instructions that 1 issued on June 3rd that until further orders there were to be
neither admissions nor discharges were unhesitatingly accepted by the Board and
most loyally obeyed by everybody.
"The main object of the quarantine was to limit the outbreak to the Home
itself and in this so far as can be seen it has been entirely successful. Numbers
of cases of doubt have been seen amongst the general population and with one
exception it was possible in all not only to exclude smallpox but also any
connection with the cases in the Home.
"Apart from quarantine the chief action taken was in the direction of
securing vaccination and routine inspection of each of the inmates. For the reason
that the first case—that of June 3rd—had been infectious for 5 days before detection
it was considered essential to vaccinate at once all those more immediately in
contact. To this end the assistance of Dr. Greenwood, the Public Vaccinator,
was obtained and a supply of Government Lymph secured. As several persons
had been transferred to the Hospital during the infective period a warning was
issued and arrangements were made for their segregation and vaccination. It is
largely because of this no doubt that spread of infection did not occur in that
Institution.
"On the following and succeeding days the campaign of vaccination continued
and within a comparatively short time the reports received indicated that all
the inmates with the exception of between 20 and 30, and all workers whether
resident or non-resident were done. Employees of contractors bringing in
supplies, dustmen, etc., unless recently vaccinated were required also to be
protected in this way.
"As it was felt that there might be a risk of the infection spreading beyond
the Institution notices recommending vaccination generally were posted and Dr.
Greenwood, who considered it advisable to open an extra station in Lisson Grove,
has vaccinated and re-vaccinated considerable numbers of persons.
"The actual vaccinations in the Home were done mainly by Dr. Greenwood
and Dr. Byrne, the Visiting Medical Officer.
"Both of these officers also most readily agreed to my suggestion that nightly
inspections were necessary and did not spare themselves in carrying out a most
trying and difficult task."
The following table, summarized from the returns made to the Ministry of
Health, give particulars with regard to each of the patients. None, it will be
noted, had been re-vaccinated since infancy, and in many, the evidence that
vaccination had in fact been performed at this time was extremely scanty.
*No further cases in fact did occur and the limitation of the infection to the
institutions was complete throughout.