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36
Full particulars as to the occurrence of Enteric Fever at
Eltham in 1901 and 1902 are given in the Annual Reports for
these years, where it is shewn that Court Road and West Park
have been specially affected. These two roads are practically
continuous, and the lower part of Court Road and the whole of
West Park are nearer to the shops in the village of Mottingham
than to those in Eltham.
I am informed that four cases of Enteric Fever have occurred
in the small village of Mottingham this year, and that seven
cases occurred last year, or a total of 11 cases in the last 15
months. Nine of these cases had their milk from a Mottingham
dairyman. During the same time 8 cases have occurred in
Court Road and West Park, 6 of which had their milk from
the same dairyman, who supplies 38 out of 86 houses in these
two roads.
The case at Wensley House began 15 days after arrival from
Newport, Monmouth, so that it is at least equally probable that
the infection was contracted at Newport or in transit, as in
Eltham. One of the cases occurring last year in 2, West Park,
had milk from another dealer in Mottingham, where a case
of Enteric Fever had recently occurred. These two cases
(Wensley House and 2, West Park) are the only ones of the
eight cases in Court Road and West Park, occurring in 1902
and 1903, not supplied by the dairyman above referred to.
Except the milk supply, nothing else has been found in
common between the Enteric cases which is likely to cause
Enteric. The houses are large villa residences, the occupiers
of the upper middle class, the water supply by the Kent Company
and continuous; where storage cisterns exist they are
regularly cleansed. No wells are known to exist at any of the
houses. At the three houses affected this year, the drains
had been recently relaid, and are disconnected from the sewer.