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87
VAGRANTS AND THE SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS
DISEASE, ESPECIALLY SMALL-POX.
A well-attended conference of representatives of Metropolitan
and provincial sanitary authorities took place in July,
at the County Hall, Spring Gardens, to discuss the means
to be taken to prevent the spread of disease by vagrants.
Sir John Hutton, Chairman of the London County Council,
presided.
The resolutions of the Conference, at which your Board
was represented, were carried as follows:—
1. That common shelters, which are not subject to the law relating to
common lodging-houses, should be made subject to such law.
2. That there should be power to Local Authorities to require medical
examination of all persons entering common lodging-houses, and casual
wards, and that each inmate of a casual ward or common lodging-house
should on admission have a bath of fresh water.
3. That the Local Authorities should have power to order the keeper of
a common lodging-house, in which there has been infectious disease, to
refuse fresh admissions for such times as may be required by the
Authority.
4. That the Local Authority should be empowered to require the
temporary closing of any common lodging-house in which infectious disease
has occurred.
5. That the Local Authority should have power to require the detention
of any inmate of a common lodging-house, or casual ward, who may reasonably
be suspected of being liable to convey infectious disease.
6. That means should be provided for the detention and isolation of any
vagrant found wandering in a public place, if reasonably supposed suspected
of being liable to convey infectious disease.
7. That the Local Authority should have full power to require the disinfection
of the person, and clothes of any person, in a common lodging-house,
or casual ward, whether infected or exposed to infection.
8. That arrangements should be made by which the occurrence of infectious
disease in common lodging-houses, or casual wards, should be made
known by the Local Authority of the District to the Local Authorities of
other districts.
9. That Local Authorities should be empowered to require the vaccination
or re-vaccination of persons in common lodging-houses, or casual wards,
who are exposed to the infection of small-pox.