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 1921
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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Venereal Diseases—continued.
| Date. 1921. | Ship. | Case (nature of). | Passenger or Crew Rating. | Advice given. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 9 | "Pommern" | Gonorrhœa - 4 | Crew | Treated on board. |
| „ 16 | "Pyrrhus" | Syphilis - 1 | Steward | To Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich. |
| „ 18 | "Sandon Hall" | Soft Chancre- 1 | Crew | Ditto. |
| „ 19 | "Malwa" | Gonorrhœa - 1 | Ditto | Ditto. |
| „ 21 | Netley Abbey" | Syphilis - 1 | Ditto | Treated on board. |
| „ 24 | "Persic" | Ditto - 1 | Ditto | Pull treatment in Australia, |
| „ 26 | "Khiva" | Ditto - 1 | Ditto | To Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich. |
| „ 26 | "Clan Mackinnon" | Ditto - 1 | Fireman | Landed at Colombo. |
| „ 31 | "Demosthenes" | Ditto - 1 | Sailor | To Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich. |
| Dec. 6 | "Soudab" | Venereal Bubo 1 | Crew | Convalescent. |
| " 15 | "Staffa" | Gonorrhœa - 1 | Ditto | To attend Hospital. |
| „ 16 | "Socrates" | Epididymitis - 1 | Ditto | Ditto. |
| „ 18 | "Titan" | Syphilis - 1 | Ditto | To Connaught Road Hospital. |
| 21 | "Velavia" | Ditto - 1 | Ditto | Ditto. |
| „ 21 | "Thurso" (Thames-haven) | Ditto - 1 | Ditto | Reported by Immigration Officer, Connaught Eoad. |
| „ 22 | "Thurso" | Chancre and 1 Bubo. | Ditto | To Connaught Road Hospital. |
| „ 31 | "Machaon" | Gonorrhœa - 1 | Ditto | Ditto. |
TABLE XXI.—M iscellaneous Diseases, &c.
| Disease. | No. of Cases. | Disease. | No. of Cases. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcoholic Poisoning | 1 | Brought forward | 33 |
| Adenitis, Inguinal | 2 | Heart Disease | 3 |
| Appendicitis | 5 | Headache | 1 |
| Asphyxia | 1 | Heat Stroke | 1 |
| Anthrax | 1 | Inguinal Glands | 1 |
| Accident | 2 | Intestinal Obstruction | 1 |
| Biliousness | 2 | Jaundice | 1 |
| Beri-Beri | 2 | Leprosy | 2 |
| Constipation | 1 | Mumps | 6 |
| Congestion of Lungs | 1 | Narcotic Poisoning | 1 |
| Cirrhosis of Liver | 1 | Nephritis | 2 |
| Coryza | 1 | Pleurisy | 4 |
| Cyanide Gas Poisoning | 1 | Pyorrhœa | 1 |
| Cancer | 1 | Septic Feet | 1 |
| Dislocation of Arm | 1 | Suicide | 2 |
| Drowning | 1 | Syphilitic Paraplegia | 1 |
| Diarrhœa | 3 | Spinal Fracture | 1 |
| Dengue | 1 | Tuberculous Meningitis | 1 |
| Enteritis | 1 | Tonsillitis | 2 |
| Erysipelas | 1 | Toxsemic Rashes | 1 |
| Gastro-Enteritis | 1 | Ursemia | 1 |
| Gallstones | 1 | Whooping Cough | 3 |
| Gastritis | 1 | Total | 70 |
| Carried forward | 33 |
ANTHRAX.
On the 9th August the death of a dock labourer who had been employed in the
discharge of a ship in Tilbury Dock was reported as suspected Anthrax. The man
complained of inflammation on his neck on the 3rd August, and had been engaged
in the holds of a ship on the 26th, 27th and 28th July, in the discharge of bone meal.
An Inspector, on enquiry, found the animal products on the ship suspected of
the origin of the disease, to consist of dry salted sheep, lamb, goat and cow skins, and
of some 3,000 bags of bone meal. The whole of these products were delivered from
Tilbury Dock, with the exception of a few overlooked bags of bone meal, so that an
extensive enquiry outside the Port Sanitary District appeared to be necessitated in
order to arrive at the source of the Anthrax; all the information available was passed
on to the Ministry of Health.
The hides appeared to be the likely, and the bone meal a possible source of
infection.
The few bags of bone meal remaining in dock were sampled, and the samples
sent to the Ministry of Health; these were found to contain Anthrax spores.
There is every inherent possibility of bone meal retaining infection if made from
infected material, but I have not hitherto noticed any comment on bone meal as a
source of Anthrax, and it would appear to be of great importance, having regard to
the unexplained infections which crop up from time to time in the country, that bone
meal has now been shown to be a source of the disease.