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23
Report of Medical Officer of Health, Port of London, Half-year ending
30th June, 1889.
MEMORANDUM.
" It appears to me to be highly desirable from various points of view
" that Chicken-pox should be included in the list of those dangerous
" infectious disorders for which special regulations may be made by the
" Port Sanitary Authority and confirmed by the Local Government
" Board, under Section 125 of the Public Health Act of 1875, mainly
" because there is always a close and dangerous similarity between
" Chicken-pox at a certain stage and cases of modified Small-pox, a
" similarity which it is within the knowledge of the Board has on more
" than one occasion lead to disastrous results, and, as the Board are
" aware, is so close that for some statistical purposes the Registrar"
General has found it necessary to include Chicken-pox with Small-pox.
" Another point is that, inasmuch as Lascars and other natives who
" are especially subject to infantile diseases of a severe type form a con"
siderable percentage of the crews of the large ocean-going passenger
" steamers, this notification becomes of great moment when the importance
" and character of our ocean passenger traffic is taken into consideration.
" It has happened that Chicken-pox has spread on board these vessels
" and given rise to much trouble. A memorandum of cases of Chicken"
pox occurring within the Port of London has already been submitted
" to the Local Government Board, and a copy is hereto appended. From
" this it will be seen that the number of cases occurring is extremely
" small, and not likely to interfere to any extent with the commercial
" interests of the Port ; and, moreover, it must be distinctly understood
" that if powers of notification and removal such as we seek were granted
" to the Port Sanitary Authority, the Medical Officer would, of course,
" have a discretionary power to carry out removal, &c.
" I would further call the attention of the Board to the fact that the
" arrangements of the Authority are such that no delay or detention of
" any kind occurs in removal of cases of infectious disease from vessels in
" the Port. The Medical Officer and proper officers remove cases
" immediately on notification at Gravesend, and the vessel is fumigated
" on her way up the River, if possible, to avoid the loss of a tide, and I am
" able to state as a fact, that in no single instance has detention occurred."
An application was made to the Local Government Board accordingly by
your Worshipful Committee in April, 1889, for their approval to the inclusion
of Chicken-pox among the dangerous infectious disorders specified in the
Regulations made by the Committee in 1885, but the Board " were not at
present prepared to assent to the proposed amendment of the Regulations."
While this Report is being revised the London County Council have made the notification
of Chicken-pox compulsory within the administrative County of London, and your Committee are
making application to the Court of Common Council to add same to the list of notifiable diseases
within the Port.