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60
of infection in an active state." We shall see presently how few
the cases actually were.
Of the 32 cases occurring in the special area, January 26—30,
twelve were in Kensington, but at distances from the hospital
ranging from 350 to 1,650 yards. The sufferers were:—a
scavenger working in Chelsea, but living in North Street,
St. Mark's; a child three years old, living in South Street,
St. Mark's (a somewhat doubtful case, "eruption undeveloped,"
and death occurring on the third day); a daughter
of a coachman, aged 18, living in I field Road; a florist's
assistant, who slept in Ifield Road, but was away from the
locality from six a.m. till nine p.m.; a lady living at Redcliffe
Street, a schoolboy, aged six, living at Stamford Cottages,
St. Mark's, and six domestic servants* residing respectively at
South Street, St. Mark's, Redcliffe Gardens, Tregunter Road,
Gledhow Gardens, Earl's Court Square, and Stanhope Gardens.
Four of the 12 cases thus occurred in the confined area, a cul-de-sac,
approached by St. Mark's Road, Fulham Road, and at a distance
of about 1300 feet, as the crow flies, over an open space,
from the hospital: the fatal case and the case of a servant
occurred in adjoining houses in South Street: the Stamford
Cottage case, and the case in North Street in the same district,
were at a very few yards from these. The servant, I may add,
was removed to hospital compujsorily, her mother persisting
in going out charing day by day: the boy in Stamford Cottages
went under threat of compulsion: the scavenger went voluntarily.
The disease was thus "stamped out" in this district
and no similar " outburst " occurred.†
*Half the Kensington cases, it will be observed, were domestic servants. In
no recent epidemic has the proportion of domestic servants attacked been less than
25 per cent, of total cases. In 1880 the proportion was 33 per cent. Generally
there was no other case in a house than the servant. I state the facts quatUum
valeant—merely adding that the suggestion that servants get small-pox through
the sewers has no warrant in fact, in Kensington, at least.
+ Mr. Power stated (5,486), "There is a good deal of intercommunication" (in
the St. Mark's district), "children playing together in the streets so that I am
not able to say they do not get small-pox from communication with antecedent
cases when the disease has become established there." Five cases occurred
in the district, singly, in the remainder of 1881,—all of adults (Baker, Plasterer,
Bricklayer, Porter, and single woman. All the cases went to hospital: two of
the men walked in),