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 1918
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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Malaria—continued.
| Date. | 1 Name o£ Vessel, Port of Registry and Official No. | Where from. | No. of Cases. | How dealt with. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918. | Brought | forward | 74 | |
| Nov. 3 | s.s. "Kwarra" | Durban | 4 | 3 treated on board. 1 removed to Denton Hospital. |
| „3 | s.s. "War Daffodil" | Mombasa | 18 | 7 cases removed to Port Sanitary Hospital. Remainder treated on board. |
| „3 | s.s. "Griqua" | East London | 7 | Treated on board. |
| „7 | s.s. "Suevic" | Sydney | 1 | Removed to Port Sanitary Hospital. |
| „10 | s.s. "Swainby" | Tanga | 3 | Treated on board. |
| „ 26 | s.s. "Deucalion" | Java | 2 | Ditto. |
| Dec. 15 | s.s. "Arden Hall" | Sapele | 1 | Ditto. |
| „16 | s.s. "Gaboon" | Burutu | 16 | Ditto. |
| 126 | ||||
Blackwateu Fever.
| Date. | Name of Vessel, Port of Registry and Official No. | Where from. | No. of Cases. | How dealt with. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28 | s.s. "Dunvegan Castle"' | Sierra Leone | 1 | Removed to Seamen's Hospital, Royal Albert Dock. |
As anticipated in my Report on Malaria for 1917, the free supply and use of
quinine on vessels trading to West Coast Ports and the increased knowledge among
shipmasters of the danger of those ports has resulted in much betterment as
regards Malaria.
The "War Daffodil" presented a series of cases which were all infected in the
port of Dakar. This port was the one of especially evil repute in 1917. The ship lay
there from the 2nd to the 15th October; cases began to appear from the 17th October
onward. The condition of the crew would have been very serious in the absence of
quinine treatment during the voyage; but the majority had recovered, by the time
Gravesend was reached on 3rd November, under quinine. Seven cases were admitted
to Denton Hospital for a course of treatment.
s.s. "Roumelian," s.s. "Kwarra" and s.s. "Griqua" presented similar histories
to that of s.s. " War Daffodil," and Dakar was the infecting port.
It was usually found that prophylaxis and treatment had both been practised on
ships using West African Ports.
The following Letter was received from the Local Government Board:—
12th March, 1918.
Sir,
Malaria.
I am directed by the President of the Local Government Board to inform
the London Port Sanitary Authority that in consequence of the occurrence last