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27
In consequence of this information your Medical Officer visited Leigh-onSea
on the 3rd January last, and in company with the Medical Officer of
Health for that place made an investigation upon the spot.
Leigh-on-Sea is situated on the shore of the Thames Estuary about 1½ miles
to the westward of Southend-on-Sea, the western boundary of the Borough
of Southend and the eastern boundary of the Urban District of Leigh being
contiguous.
Leigh has a population of nearly 4,000 persons (which is, of course, largely
augmented during the summer season).
During 1902, 43 cases of Enteric Fever occurred.
The sewage of Leigh is filtered through coke breeze filter beds, the resultant
effluent being discharged into Leigh Creek, about half-a-mile westward of
Leigh Railway Station.
Cockles are gathered from the Maplin and Blythe Sands, brought by boat to
Leigh, where the practice is to place them in the Creek for a variable period in
order to "purge themselves of the sand."
Assuming the original gathering ground to be free from sewage pollution,
storage of the cockles in Leigh Creek points to an obvious result, namely,
while purging themselves of the sand of the gathering ground, they fill
themselves with the sewage polluted mud and water of the Creek.
Your Medical Officer collected samples of the cockles direct from the Creek,
also samples of the mud and water. These were examined by Dr. Klein.
His report is interesting and instructive; it was as follows:—
St. Bartholomew's Hospital and College,
January 7th, 1903.
"1. One sample of water, labelled 'Water taken from Leigh Creek, low
"tide, 11.30 a.m., 3rd December, 1902.'
"2. One sample of mud and cockles from Leigh Creek, low tide, taken by
"Medical Officer of Health, 3rd January, 1903.
"These samples will be nominated :—
"Water from Leigh Creek,
"Mud from Leigh Creek, and
"Cockles, No. 10, respectively.
"A. Water.—This water contained at least ¼ million microbes per 1 cc. The
"water contained abundance of bacillus coli communis and spores of bacillus
"enteritidis sporogenes, of the latter at least 10 spores per 1 cc., of the former at
"least 100 per 1 cc.
"From this it follows that this water is practically dilute sewage.
"B. Mud.—1 gramme of mud was distributed in 10 cc. of sterile water; after
"allowing the mineral matter to settle, of the slightly turbid fluid, cc., ¼ cc.,
"and 1 cc. were used for demonstrating the presence of bacillus coli communis and