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 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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Malaria—
| Date. | Name of Vessel, Port of Registry and Official No. | Where from. | No. of Cases. | How dealt with. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923. | Brought forward 116 | ||||
| Aug. | 12 | ss. "Aurigny" of France | Shanghai | 1 | Treated on board. |
| „ | 13 | ss. "Plassy" of Greenock, 109,259." | Bombay | 16 | „ „ |
| „ | 26 | ss. "Harburg" of Hamburg | Samabaya | 2 | „ „ |
| „ | 26 | ss. "Matiana" of Glasgow, 146,294. | Calcutta | 7 | „ „ |
| Sept. | 7 | ss. "Morea" of Glasgow, 128,235. | Bombay | 12 | „ „ |
| „ | 13 | ss. "Karimoen" of Amsterdam | Mombasa | 1 | „ „ |
| „ | 13 | ss. "Nagoya" of Greenock, 135,323. | Calcutta | 4 | „ „ |
| „ | 17 | ss. "Khiva" of Liverpool, 135,533. | Yokohama | 7 | „ „ |
| „ | 18 | ss. "Somersetshire" of Liverpool, 145,844. | Calcutta | 1 | Admitted to Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich. |
| „ | 21 | ss. "Kaisar-I-Hind" of Greenock, 128,653. | Bombay | 2 | 1 died. 1 landed at Plymouth. |
| „ | 24 | ss. "Ellaston" of Glasgow, 146,301. | Panarockan | 1 | Landed at Panarockan. |
| „ | 24 | ss. "Nethergate" of London, 139,042. | Buenos Aires | 1 | Treated on board. |
| „ | 25 | ss. "Wildwood" of Philadelphia | - | 1 | Admitted to Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich. |
| „ | 28 | ss. "Narkunda" of Belfast, 142,496. | Sydney | 2 | „ „ |
| Oct. | 4 | ss. "Deucalion" of Liverpool, 113,433. | Java | 1 | Treated on board. |
| ,„ | 5 | ss. "China" of Belfast, 104,467 | Bombay | 2 | „ „ |
| „ | 11 | ss. "Crane" of London, 118,457 | Genoa | 1 | Landed at Cardiff. |
| „ | 13 | ss. "Clan Stuart" of Glasgow, 137,827. | Bombay | 1 | Landed at Aden. |
| Nov. | 1 | ss. "Mentor" of Liverpool, 137,408. | Kobe | 1 | Proceeded to Scotland. |
| „ | 17 | ss. "Admiral" (German) | Salonica | 1 | Went to Hospital in Hamburg. |
| „ | 21 | ss. "Priam" of Liverpool, 118,143. | Bataria | 3 | Treated on board. |
| Dec. | 1 | ss. "Mooltan" | Bombay | 2 | „ „ |
| „ | 19 | ss. "Mandala" of Glasgow, 137,806. | Beira | 1 | Died on board. |
| „ | 30 | ss. "Clan Mac vicar" of Glasgow, 141,878. | Bombay | 1 | Proceeded to Liverpool. |
| 188 | |||||
MALARIA.
A rather severe visitation of malignant malaria occurred on board ss. "Garth
Castle," which arrived on the 20th April. This was extensively noted in the newspapers.
A feature of the epidemic was that in 20 cases there were 8 deaths. The
ship was coasting from Cape Town via Durban, Delagoa Bay and Beira. About
ten days after leaving Beira, illness began to appear amongst the crew and passengers.
Delagoa Bay and Beira at this season of the year, the end of the rainy period,
were insufferably moist and hot and the clouds of mosquitoes a marked feature of
this particular voyage, particularly at Beira. The cases were characterised by the
usual variety found in malignant malaria; excessive vomiting, coma, deep jaundice
and the customary fever were the features of different cases.
There was no question as to the diagnosis of the illness, and your Medical
Officer immediately gave all the facts to the Ministry of Health, in continuation of
a procedure which has in the past, and will more in the future, lead to practical
result in the regulating of ships visiting very definite malaria centres.
The disease, malaria, is usually not very fatal owing to the remedy, quinine,
which usually acts as a charm in allaying all symptoms, but the virus and organism
which lives in the blood cells is not easily eradicated from the human body and like
that of syphilis tends to cripple the capacity of the sufferer rather than to kill
outright.