View report page

35
and all vessels arriving in the Port of London from that place were medicallyinspected,
the names and addresses of passengers taken, and the same were
notified to the Medical Officers of Health of the districts to which they were
proceeding.
Vessels arriving from ports in this country are not usually visited by
His Majesty's Customs on arrival at Gravesend, but by the kindness of the
Inspector of Waterguard at Gravesend, instructions were given for the launch
of His Majesty's Customs to convey the Medical Officer of this Authority
to vessels arriving from Leith.
No cases were, however, discovered on any vessel arriving from Leith, and
as no further cases occurred there, it was not necessary to continue the
precautionary measures for a longer period than a month.
The s.s. "Hylas," of Liverpool, 110,619, arrived at Hamburg from
Rosario, River Plate, on the 25th May. The discharge of cargo was stopped
on the 27th owing to the presence of dead rats. The vessel was fumigated
and disinfected, and sailed on the 7th June for Middlesbrough, arriving there
the following day. The second cook left the ship at night and proceeded to
Manchester, where he was taken ill and died. Bacteriological examination
revealed the fact that the man had died of Plague. From Middlesbrough the
vessel proceeded to London, arriving on the night of the 20th June. The
crew were medically inspected and found all well. I visited the vessel in
dock, examined the crew, and arranged for a daily muster. On June 24th,
as the vessel was on the point of sailing, one of the crew was reported ill.
A Sanitary Inspector proceeded in the vessel, which was boarded at Gravesend,
and the man examined by the Medical Officer on duty, who found that the
man was not suffering with any disease of an infectious nature, and the vessel
was allowed to proceed on her voyage to Cape Town.
The following Table gives the total number of rats returned as destroyed
on Vessels and in the Docks for the five years ending the 31st December last.