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35
The age-distribution of cases in North and South Kensington
respectively, at this time, and throughout the epidemic, was much
the same as in former epidemics, there having been many children
attacked in the north and few in the south. In the south, on
the other hand, female servants continued to furnish a large proportion
of total cases. As regards locality it is worthy of mention
that in the north district no case had previously been recorded in
the year in thirteen out of the fourteen streets invaded during the
month under consideration, but there had previously been one case
in each of five streets, out of the fourteen invaded in the south
district. In the north, in one street only did the disease appear in
two houses; in the south, the disease appeared in three houses in
one street and in two houses in two streets; in each of the other
streets there was but one case.
The Medical Superintendent of the Western Hospital, in
continuation of previous reports, informed me that during the four
weeks ended July 9th, patients were admitted from 63 houses in
the borough, newly invaded, viz.: 24 (=38 percent.) in, and
39 (= 62 per cent.) beyond, the "Special Area." In the central
quarter-mile circle no house was invaded; in the ¼
-½ mile ring
eleven houses were invaded; in the ½-¾
mile ring twelve houses; in
the ¾-1 mile ring one house. Of the 87 borough cases admitted
during the same period, 35 came from Kensington, 24 from Chelsea,
and 28 from the Fulham District. One hundred and twenty-seven
borough cases had been admitted, to date, since the re-opening of
the Hospital, on May 17th, viz., from Kensington 61, from
Fulham 38, and from Chelsea 28.
The month (June 15—July 12) brought forth the following
farther illustrations of modes of spread of the disease—
A. A., a girl, aged 9, at Bransford Street, Notting Hill, was attacked with smallfox
on or about May 24th. The parents, being "opposed to doctors," did not call
in medical aid, and they concealed the case from the other inmates of the house,
the result being that nine cases subsequently occurred and were removed to
hospital, viz., the father of the girl and two of his children, 4 children in a second
family, and a mother and a child in a third family. All the cases did well.
Through contact with one of the families, an outbreak of the disease occurred
in a house in an adjoining street, whence three cases (one fatal) were removed to