View report page

18
The first case was that of a young man residing at No. 7, Bridport Place, a house
in a clean and satisfactory sanitary condition. He was in the habit of visiting friends
residing at No. 399, Corfield Street, Bethnal Green. On the same staircase in the
house in Corfield Street, at No. 395, a man had died from what was at the time considered
to be purpura haemorrhagica. It was subsequently believed that the cause
of his death was black smallpox. An outbreak of smallpox followed, and there is very
little doubt that the case in Bridport Place was connected with this outbreak. The
young man was removed to hospital and the usual precautions were taken to prevent
infection spreading and no further cases resulted from this source of infection in Shoreditch.
The second case was that of a carman residing at 53, Eagle Wharf Road, a common
lodging house. He was removed to hospital on April 9th. Nothing definite was
obtainable as to the source of infection in this case. The man's occupation took him
into various districts of the Metropolis and he could give no information as to how he
became infected. The usual steps were taken and the lodging house was kept under
observation. No further cases were traceable to this man.
The third case was that of a wood carver, out of work, who was removed from, the
common lodging house at 277, Kingsland Road. The history of his movements during
the three or four weeks prior to his illness was indefinite; he appears to have been on
the tramp in the neighbourhood of Walthamstow and came to No. 277, Kingsland Road
on April 12th. He then had the eruption out on him, but the nature of his illness was
not detected until April 14th, when he was at once removed to hospital. He therefore
slept at the common lodging house on the nights of the 12th and 13th of April whilst suffering
from smallpox. The usual steps were taken, and the lodging house was kept under
observation. So far as could be ascertained three cases resulted from this patient.
Two of them were inmates of the lodging house and the third resided at No. 13,
Appleby Street. It was, however, found on enquiry that this third patient had also been
an inmate of the common lodging house, having, indeed, slept in the bed next to the man
suffering from smallpox.
The cases which occurred in July were connected. On July 15th three cases were
removed from Hoxton Place which together with a case which occurred in the City of
Westminster about the same date were, without doubt, infected from the same source.
This source of infection was not discovered. Hoxton Place is connected with Hoxton
Street by a narrow passage, which probably in hot weather is made use of for sleeping
purposes. It is conjectured that it may have been so used by a person suffering
from or infectious from smallpox. The three cases in Hoxton Place gave rise to four
other cases. So far as could be ascertained there were no other cases from this source
of infection.
The following case may be mentioned as having possibly been one of smallpox
without eruption. On April 7th at the request of her medical attendant I saw a Mrs.
N-, then residing at No. 30, Weymouth Terrace, where she was staying whilst her