View report page

30
CHOLERA.
The distribution and the westward advance of Cholera in Europe during the
year 1905 is of great interest.
In my Annual Report for 1904, I was able to show the progress of this
disease from Syria and the Eastern Levant by way of Arabia and Mesopotamia,
and from Persia via the Russian Transcaspian provinces into Europe.
During the past year Cholera has been prevalent in Southern and Central
Russia, and, following the course of the River Vistula, appeared in Germany
during the month of August. At this stage it became necessary to observe
strictly the Regulations of the Local Government Board, for the prevention
of the introduction of this disease from Baltic ports, especially into the Port
of London. Accordingly all ports on the Rivers Vistula and Oder and those
on the Russian and German littoral were considered " infected," a
detailed medical inspection of all persons on board vessels arriving from these
ports was carefully carried out, and the names and addresses in this country
of all such persons arriving were taken and notified to the Medical Officer of
the district to which they were proceeding.
A large number of persons so arriving were, of course, Jewish immigrants
from Russia and Germany, and with a view to a better control of the movements
of these persons after landing, in company with a Medical Inspector of
the Local Government Board I visited the Poor Jews' Temporary Shelter in
Whitechapel, and discussed the question with the people in authority there.
It must be understood that many of these alien immigrants arrive in this
country without any definite address to which they intend to go, and, owing
to the unsatisfactory nature of the addresses furnished by these alien immigrants—nearly
30 per cent. of the addresses given were found on enquiry to be
incorrect—it became necessary to detain all the alien steerage passengers on
board the vessel until I could be satisfied that they would go to the addresses
furnished.
An arrangement was therefore made with the Committee of the Poor Jews'
Temporary Shelter in Leman Street, Whitechapel, that these people should
be formally released to the officials of the Shelter who would personally
conduct them there, and from whence they would proceed to the addresses given,
the accuracy of the same being guaranteed by these officials, either by personal
knowledge of the persons to whom they intended going, or by personally
conducting them thither.
A list of these addresses was furnished to me each day, and these were
notified to the Medical Officers of Health of the Local Authorities concerned.