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hands of the Boards of Guardians. I hope, however, that the next Vaccination Act
will remedy this, and that the powers and duties of the Guardians in connection
with vaccination, will be transferred to the Sanitary Authorities.
Placards were posted throughout the district in January, calling attention to
the spread of Small-pox, and recommending vaccination. The names and addresses
of the Public Vaccinators in the various districts were given, together with the hours
of attendance at the Vaccination Stations.
At the beginning of the outbreak all the Sanitary Inspectors, Clerks, and Disinfectors
were re-vaccinated. During the height of the epidemic 21 men were
employed in the removal of infected clothing and in disinfecting rooms. The driver
of the disinfecting van was employed by the contractor, and he was the only man
who was not re-vaccinated. He took no actual part in removing the clothing, as his
duties consisted entirely in driving. He was the only one that contracted Small-pox.
All the others escaped.
I had no difficulty in having persons suffering from Small-pox removed to the
Hospital, with one exception only. In this case the parents wanted to isolate the
patient at home. I applied to a magistrate at the Thames Police Court, and he
granted me an Order to compel the patient's removal. This had the desired effect,
and the patient was removed without further delay.
Callousness and carelessness amounting almost to criminal negligence were, however,
responsible for a great deal.
The following instances will better explain what I mean.
(1) A case of Small-pox occurred in a house in Agnes Street and was removed
to the Hospital on January 18th. A school mistress lodged in the same house, and
as soon as she heard of it, she left the house, leaving no address. On February 3rd she
called at the Public Health Offices, and asked me for a certificate, so that she could
resume her duties at the school. I noticed that she wore a very thick black veil,
and after asking her a few questions, I requested her to lift her veil, so that I could
see her face. As she did not appear to be anxious to do so, I became suspicious,
and lifted up the veil myself. I then saw that her face was covered with a Smallpox
eruption, which had probably appeared more than a week before. I did not
give her another chance of running away, but locked her in a room till the ambulance
arrived to remove her to the Hospital.
(2) A man called to see a doctor at his surgery in the City. The doctor diagnosed
Small-pox, gave the patient a notification certificate, and told him to take
it to the Public Health Offices. I was in the office when he came, and he was
detained until an ambulance arrived. I wrote to the medical man, calling his
attention to the facts of the case, and pointing out to him that he had contravened
the Public Health Act. In reply, he wrote that he had only recently come to the
district, and was not conversant with the provisions of the Act. He was requested
to take proper precautions in the future.