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Of the 1,410 cases of Small-pox that occurred during the whole epidemic, not a
single child under 8 years of age, that had been vaccinated in infancy, contracted the
disease. Not a single death occurred among persons under 17 years who had been
vaccinated in infancy.
In comparing the two tables it will be seen that the fatality among the unvaccinated
is similar to what it was in the pre-vaccination days, viz.: that it was
exceedingly fatal among children under one year of age. It becomes less fatal until
the period 20—30 years is reached. On the other hand, among the vaccinated it
is nil under 10 years of age, and from 20 years of age onward it becomes greater.
During this epidemic the Jews have been exceptionally free from the disease,
and there has been far less among the aliens than among the English-born Jews.
The number of aliens who had arrived in London within the last five years and
who contracted Small-pox was less than a dozen. Considering that within two or
three years of their arrival in Stepney from the Continent, they are almost totally
ignorant of the rudiments of sanitation, and that overcrowding is relatively more
prevalent among them, than any other class of the community, the immunity of
aliens from Small-pox can only be explained by the fact that they are exceptionally
well vaccinated, which is an undoubted fact.
Small-pox at Common Lodging Houses.
There are in this Borough 84 registered common lodging houses, or one-sixth
the total number in the whole of London.
These are registered to lodge 6,755. In addition to these houses there are other
common lodging houses in the district, but as they give free shelter they are not yet
registered.
Of the 84 registered houses, Small-pox occurred in 36.
Early in January I called the attention of the Public Health Committee to the
advisability of having persons in common lodging houses kept under constant medical
supervision.
As these houses are registered by the London County Council, and are under
their control, it was decided to ask that authority to employ a medical man, whose
duties would be to examine periodically at night, all the lodgers in houses where
Small-pox had already occurred, with a view of detecting persons suffering from that
disease.
The County Council soon afterwards employed a medical man for that purpose.
A large number of persons lodged in the same registered house and slept in
the same bed, night after night for years. Others, unfortunately, changed from one
place to the other, and in the intervals slept on doorsteps and in other places in the
streets.
As can be seen in the particulars given below, they often did not complain of
any pain, nor did they seek medical advice, until the eruption was well developed,
and their attention had been called to it,
B 2