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7
PORT OF LONDON SANITARY OFFICES,
51, KING WILLIAM STREET,
GREENWICH, S.E. 10.
TO THE WORSHIPFUL THE POUT OF LONDON
SANITARY COMMITTEE.
Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present my Annual Report for the year 1918, with details of
the work done by ycur Medical Officers and Inspectors.
The total number of vessels medically inspected was 409, marking low ebb in the
numbers of arrivals of large vessels during the last phase of the War and the immediately
ensuing period.
Transport of troops on cargo vessels is accountable for the report of a large
amount of sickness on incoming ships. Most of the cases among troops, however,
were landed in other ports.
Amongst seamen, eight cases of Plague and four suspected-cases were landed to
Denton Hospital, from two ships; the total number of cases of infectious disease
treated in Denton Hospital being 57. *
Disinfections were carried out on 54 vessels.
Contacts and possible contacts of disease were notified to their Authorities for
"surveillance" to the number of 575.
36,342 rats were reported destroyed on ships and in the docks.
Upwards of 1,000,000 rats have now been accounted for since 1901, when rat
control began.
Of 2,315 rats examined for Plague from the docks four were found to be infected.
The aggregate weight of food condemned was 1,200 tons, of which 331 tons were
meat. Wherever practicable this material was disposed of in ways which preserved
whatever value or utility remained after its condemnation as human food.
The sanitary inspection of vessels showed a total number of 28,752 visits against
a ten-year annual average of 35,968; the average per Inspector employed showed
no reduction.