View report page

34
The following cases were cited as illustrations of probable
modes of spread of the disease:
C. D., a servant, was stricken with illness about May 15th; four or five days
later the occurrence of another case in the same house suggested a common origin
for both cases, and ultimately it was discovered that A. G., a fellow servant, with
whom C. D. slept, had suffered from what was supposed to be chicken-pox, but was
doubtless modified small-pox. A. G. had never been laid up at all.
J. K., a carpenter, who worked in Chelsea, was stricken with small-pox, and the
illness was concealed from the other residents in the house j the attack was
slight, and after a fortnight at home he resumed out-door exercise, daily, while
still infective.
W. S-, a plumber, who lived at Notting Hill, walked into Stockwell hospital,
May 28th, from King's Cross, where he was at work, and whither he had travelled
by train. His sister had had supposed "chicken-pox," and her husband had had
small-pox. They resided at Clapham, and W. S. had visited them.
G. B., a bricklayer, walked into the Western Hospital, on the 5th of June,
having first gone the same day from West Brompton to Sloane Street to see a
doctor. He went to a provincial city on May 31st, and appears to have sickened
the same day: he returned to town (by train of course), June 4th.
E. D., a servant, is stated to have been visited at her "place" on the infection
clay (her "Sunday-in"), by a young man who had spots on his face, which may
have been varioloid.
E. M. and J. F., domestic servants in separate families, sought medical advice
for spots on the face, &c., at a medical man's surgery one day; the same night one
of them, and the next day the other, was found to be suffering from small-pox,
and both of them were removed to hospital.
D. M. contracted small-pox, May 17th, and subsequently gave the disease to her
sister, A. M., June 3rd, and to her cousin, E. I., June 6th. These 3 cases were
treated at home.
A medical practitioner reported two cases as follows: (1) A man had
modified small-pox and would not go to hospital; contrary to advice, and not feeling
ill, he persisted in returning to his work, while still infective. (2) A father
caught the disease from one of his children, who had had, what was supposed to
be chicken-pox, but was, no doubt, small-pox.
In the following four weeks (June 15—July 12) the new cases
in Kensington were 35—18 in North Kensington, and 17 in
South Kensington.* The cases in the Asylums Board Hospitals,
which had risen to 1,368 on- July 5th, had fallen on July 12th
to 1,242.
* It may be mentioned that the figures here given do not correspond with those
published at the time in the monthly reports. Then, I stated the number of cases
recorded month by month; now, I am in a position to class the cases according
to the date of " invasion."