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Officer of Health to see all cases during an epidemic, and confirmation by the Medical
Officer of Health should not be insisted upon as a condition to the removal to hospital
of cases that have been notified.)
Disinfection.—The contents of the room occupied by the patient, together with
the clothing of the patient, to be disinfected after removal of the patient to hospital.
Disinfection to be carried out during regular office hours unless in special circumstances
the Medical Officer of Health instructs otherwise.
The cases notified after 6 p.m. on week days to be disinfected the following
morning, and cases notified after 1 p.m. on Saturday to be disinfected on Monday
morning.
Surveillance of Contacts.—Close contacts to be kept under observation by
Officers of the Public Health Department for unexpired portion of incubation period
(18 days) by visits at their homes and enquiries from responsible persons as to their
health. Pamphlets on precautions to be taken to be left at the home and contacts
instructed to call in a doctor on any sign of illness.
Unless the circumstances are exceptional, visits to the homes of contacts to be
confined to usual office hours. The surveillance of contacts at work to be discontinued.
Information that an individual resident in Shoreditch and working elsewhere is a
contact not in future to be sent to the Medical Officer of Health of the district in
which he works.
As before, information that an individual has developed smallpox to be given
either to his employer, or, if working outside the Borough, to the Medical Officer of
Health of the district in which he works.
It will be seen that the general effect of these recommendations, if adopted,
would be that mild smallpox would be treated in much the same manner as Scarlet
Fever; that the loss of employment amongst smallpox contacts would be reduced
to a minimum, and that the staff would, except in exceptional cases, be able to confine
their duties to usual office hours.
In support of this application it would be opportune to remind the Minister that
in Circular 1025, issued in August, 1929, the mild character of the smallpox now
prevalent was referred to, and was given as one of the reasons for modifying advice
to be given regarding the vaccination of children of school age and adolescents."
In December the Minister intimated his approval of the suggested procedure
with the reservation that the diagnosis should be verified by the Medical Officer of
Health before the case was removed, and that immediately after removal steps
should be taken to secure the disinfection of personal clothing, bedding or beds which
might have become infected.
In order to prevent the possibility of smallpox infection spreading in the
Borough as a result of the prevalent mild cases of the disease being mistaken for
chickenpox, the latter disease was made notifiable for a period of six months,
commencing 8th February.
During the six months that notification was in force 393 cases were notified,
all of which were seen by the Medical Officer of Health or Assistant Medical Officer
of Health. Only 15 cases notified as chickenpox proved to be smallpox, and it
was decided not to prolong notification for a further period as the error intended to