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

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Croydon 1894

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]

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26
Small-pox—Two mild cases of this disease were reported.
The first case was notified on April 26th, from a house in Kenley,
in the parish of Coulsdon. The household consisted of 5 adults,
3 females, and 2 males, both of whom were ergaged daily in
business in London. There was also a domestic servant, who
slept at her own home near at hand. The information given
was that all had been re-vaccinated about 15 years previously,
except one of the sons, aged 30. This gentleman was attacked
with lumbar pain on April 2nd, and had some spots on the 4th,
but thinking that he had an attack of influenza, did not consult
a medical man at all, and, indeed, travelled daily by railway to
London, and went about his occupation as usual. On April
22nd his sister first complained of feeling unwell, and after
consulting a medical man, the case was pronounced to be one of
modified small-pox, and was so reported on the 26th. Upon
this diagnosis, the brother, who had first been unwell, made
enquiries, and found that on March 21st, exactly 12 days before
he felt ill, he had conversed for some little time with, and had
received some cash from, a man whose wife and children had
just previously been removed to a small-pox hospital, and who,
moreover, was himself removed 2 days later. There cannot be
much doubt, therefore, but that this gentleman had in reality
suffered from a mild attack of small-pox, and that his sister
caught the disease from him. Another sister left her home in
Kenley to stay with friends on April 13th, and it appeared that
she was also attacked with lumbar pain on April 20th, but
although 1 communicated with the Medical Officer of Health,
the only information obtained was that the diagnosis was
influenza. The domestic servant alluded to above, was a
daughter of the local constable, whose family consisted of a wife
and 4 children. The girl was employed daily at the infected
house until 26th April, and when the diagnosis of small-pox was
made, was promptly sent home. Steps were immediately
taken with a view to prevent the spread of the disease in this
household, and on my urgent representations, the entire family
was re-vaccinated successfully, except the father, who, in