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All hands were vaccinated on the 4th January ; native quarters were disinfected
and crew landed and bathed at Pondicherry. General fumigation and spraying
of quarters at Marseilles on the 6th February.
This case was examined on arrival at Gravesend and found to have been a
case of smallpox modified by vaccination.
The ss. "Kaisar-I-Hind" arrived from Bombay on the 5th March. A Goanese
steward was taken on board on the 14th February at Bombay ; on the 15th he
was seen with a rash and had a history of three days' illness with fever. The rash
was papular marked on face and extremities, and was diagnosed as smallpox.
The patient was isolated, and landed at Aden on the 18th. The case was modified
by infantile vaccination.
Vaccination was carried out, and the infected quarters on the vessel fumigated
and washed down ; the contents being destroyed.
The ss. "Oxfordshire" from Rangoon, reported a case in the baker's mate,
as having been landed at Colombo on the 2nd March suffering from smallpox.
The note in the Boarding Medical Officer's Report is: "All the crew were offered
vaccination at Rangoon where smallpox is prevalent. The patient was leader of
nine who refused, the other eight were vaccinated at Colombo." Thus it is satisfactory
that the whole crew, including all the recalcitrants, are now naturally or
artificially immunised.
The ss. "Morea" arrived from Sydney on the 13th March, with 269 passengers
and 103 crew. A first-class passenger joined the vessel at Aden on February 26th.
He had heart disease and the Surgeon saw him on this account on March 6th. On
the 7th, three or four acne-like papules were noticed on his forehead and the following
day a few others were seen on trunk ; the hands were free. There were no
constitutional symptoms or rise of temperature. The case was very mild and
doubtful, but the Medical Officer at Gibraltar agreed with the Ship's Surgeon that
it was a case of mild modified smallpox. The patient was landed at Gibraltar on
March 9th.
One other passenger who occupied the cabin left the vessel at Marseilles but
was not in contact after the eruption was first noticed.
All crew and passengers, with a few exceptions, were re-vaccinated ; cabin
and hospital cabin were fumigated and washed down.
Precautions taken at Gravesend :—All bedding and textile articles landed
for disinfection. All crew and passengers examined. Infected quarters fumigated.
Names and addresses of all crew and passengers notified to the various Medical
Officers of Health of the destinations given.
The ss. "City of Harvard" arrived from Calcutta on the 30th March. On the
9th March a native deck Lascar was taken ill with fever, backache and vomiting;
rash came out on the 12th on face and extremities. The case was diagnosed as
smallpox, isolated in the ship's hospital and landed at Suez on the 16th
March. The case was of moderate severity—-unvaccinated.
All on board were vaccinated. The native quarters on the vessel were fumigated
and washed down.
On arrival at Gravesend all on board were found well.
The ss. "City of Naples" arrived from Rangoon on the 28th March. On the
2nd February a native coal trimmer was taken ill, with pains in head and back, and a
temperature. The case was diagnosed as smallpox and landed at Negapatam on the
2nd February. Crew's quarters on the vessel were disinfected.
The ss. "Holywell" arrived from Calcutta on the 31st March. On the 1st
March a native fireman was taken ill ; rash appeared on face on the 4th, and the
patient was landed at Aden on the 9th as a case of modified smallpox.
The crew were vaccinated at Calcutta, and the captain and remainder of
crew (Europeans) vaccinated at Aden. The ship was disinfected at Aden, and the
bedding destroyed.
The ss. "Narkunda" arrived from Bombay on the 16th April. On the 6th
April the 3rd Wireless Operator reported sick with papular rash of typical variola,
and was landed at Marseilles on the 10th, the rash then becoming pustular. The
patient had not been vaccinated since infancy.
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