London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Port of London 1907

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]

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3.—Coasting Ships.
The expression, "coasting ship" and coast voyage, means a ship employed,
or in course of preparation for employment in trading, or going on a voyage
beginning and ending within the limits of the United Kingdom, Channel
Islands and the Isle of Man.
The precautions with regard to coasting ships are similar to those on
outward bound ships, with this difference—that only when the Medical
Officer of Health has reason to suppose that a coasting ship is infected, it is
compulsory on him to visit the ship and examine the master and crew and
other persons on board.
It will be seen from a perusal of the above extracts from the regulations
relating to Cholera, Yellow Fever and Plague, that additional and great
responsibility is placed upon the Port of London Sanitary Authority with
regard to the prevention of the introduction of such diseases into this country,
and I herewith give for your information a short account of the machinery
and procedure necessary for dealing with this matter.
A Medical Officer is constantly on duty at Gravesend by day and night,
and he accompanies, in a launch of His Majesty's Customs, the Preventive
Officer, who visits every ship arriving from "foreign." His duty is to
investigate every case of illness that occurs, or that has occurred, during the
voyage, with a view to ascertaining whether it is of an infectious nature, and
should the ship have come from, or touched at, a port infected with Cholera,
Yellow Fever or Plague, he boards the vessel, and satisfies himself by a
personal examination and by careful enquiry, that there is no person on
board suffering from either of these diseases, or with any symptoms suspicious
of the same.
In the event of a case of Cholera, Yellow Fever or Plague, or any other
Infectious Disease being discovered, the patient is removed to the Hospital of
this Authority at Denton, where he is isolated until all danger of his
spreading infection is passed. Such measures of disinfection are carried out
on the vessel as may be considered necessary to prevent the spread of disease.
After disinfection the vessel is allowed to proceed to dock, where careful
enquiries are made every day by an Inspector of the Authority, who reports
anything of a suspicious nature forthwith to your Medical Officer of Health
at Greenwich.
A Medical Officer is also stationed at Sheerness to carry out the same
duties under these Regulations with regard to vessels entering the River
Med way.
Three launches are available for the removal to Hospital of any case of
Infectious Disease that may be discovered within the jurisdiction of the Port
of London Sanitary Authority.