London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of London 1905
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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37
SMALL-POX.
There were 24 cases of this disease reported on vessels during the year,
of which four were treated in the Port Sanitary Hospital.
I append particulars of the ships on which the cases occurred, stating
where the patients were isolated.
Careful inquiry was made as to the measures of disinfection carried out in
foreign ports, and the crews were kept under observation during the stay of
the vessel in the Port of London.
TABLE VIII. (S mall-pox.)
| Date. | Name of Vessel, Port of Eegistry and Official No. | Where from. | No. of cases. | How dealt with. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905. | ||||
| 20 th January - | s.s. " Benalder," of Leith, 104,908. | Yokohama | 2 | Removed to Hospital, one at Singapore and one at Suez. |
| 31st January - | s.s. " Haddon Hall," of W.Hartlepool, 106,979. | Busreh | 1 | Removed to Hospital at Suez. |
| 25th February | s.s, " Sigyn," of Stockholm | Alexandria | 1 | Removed to Port Sanitary Hospital. |
| 6th March | s.s. " India," of Greenock, 105.572. | Sydney | 1 | Removed to Hospital at Port Said. |
| 9 th March | s.s. " Palawan," of Greenock, 102,400. | Yokohama | 1 | Removed to Hospital at Kobe. |
| 25t,h March - | s.s. " Macedonia," of Belfast, 116,012. | Bombay | 3 | Two removed at Suez, one at Marseilles. |
| 4th April | s.s. " Tyne," of Newcastle, 83,890. | Santander | 1 | Removed to Metropolitan Asylums Board Hospital. |
| 20th April | s.s. " Clan Murray," of Glasgow, 106,077. | Calcutta | 1 | Removed to Hospital at Colombo. |
| 23rd April | s.s. " Clan Macneil," of Glasgow, 115,770. | V izagapatam | 1 | Removed to Hospital at Bimlipatam. |
| 25th May | s.s. " Merionethshire," of London, 104,830. | Yokohama | 2 | Removed to Hospital at Colombo. |
| 27th May | s.s. " Cheshire," of Liverpool, 9,930. | Rangoon | 5 | Two removed at Dover, two at Suez, one in London. |
| 7th July | s.s. " Assyria," of Glasgow, 113,927. | Calcutta | 1 | Removed to Hospital at Suez. |
| 11th August - | s.s. •'Muristan," of Swansea, 109,644. | Bussorah | 1 | Removed to Port Sanitary Hospital. |
| 16 th August - | s.s. " Batavier IV.," of Rotterdam. | Rotterdam | 1 | Removed to Port Sanitary Hospital. |
| 19th September | s.s. " Cid," of Barcelona - | Yaleticia | 1 | Removed to Port Sanitary Hospital. |
| 20th October - | s.s. " Galeka," of Southampton, 110,265. | East London | 1 | Removed to Hospital at Southampton. |
| Total | 24 |
On the 25th February, the barque "Jeanie Woodside" arrived at Gravesend
from Ghent. One of the men had been ill for two days, and on being
examined by the Medical Officer he was of the opinion that the illness was
not that of any dangerous infectious disorder.
On arrival in London it was thought advisable for the man to be seen by a
doctor, who pronounced the man to be suffering from Small-pox. He was
accordingly removed to the Hospital of the Metropolitan Asylums Board,
where, on careful examination, he was found not to be suffering from Smallpox
or any other notifiable disease.