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ports in Asia, including the Islands of Japan, the East Indies and Ceylon; Africa,
including the Island of Madagascar, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde Islands;
Turkey; Greece; the Black Sea; the Azores; the whole of South America; the whole
of Central America; the Gulf of Mexico; the Islands of the West Indies.
Cases of infectious disease are removed in the Port Sanitary Authority's motor
launch to the Authority's Isolation Hospital, which is situated on the River bank at
Denton, just below Gravesend. This Hospital consists of an administrative block,
three ward blocks providing accommodation for 32 cases, a bathing and disinfecting
station, laundry, mortuary and post-mortem room and a porter's cottage. When it
is deemed necessary for the prevention of the spread of infection, contacts are removed
to hospital for observation, or more commonly for bathing and disinfection of their
personal effects. In this connection the bathing and disinfecting station erected during
last year has proved very useful. The station consists of an undressing room connected
with the infected side of the disinfector, four spray and two slipper baths and a
dressing room connected with the clean side of the disinfector. The whole building
can be kept thoroughly warm, so that contacts who have been through the baths
can wait, without discomfort, to receive their disinfected clothing. During the
month of March alone 106 natives from three ships on which Small-pox had occurred
were disinfected at the station.
A causeway runs from the Hospital down to the River. It will be necessary to
raise this in order to enable the new launch to go alongside for the landing of patients.
When vessels arrive on which dangerous infectious disease has occurred, and
the period that has elapsed since the landing of the last case is less than the maximum
incubation period of the disease in question, not only are passengers and crew carefully
inspected, but their names and addresses are obtained and forwarded with the necessary
information to the Medical Officers of Health of the districts to which they are
proceeding. The addresses are carefully checked by the Medical Officer by personal
interrogation of each passenger and member of the crew, as passenger manifests and
crew articles are not sufficiently accurate. Those who are liable to change their
addresses within the prescribed period of surveillance are given post cards addressed
to the Port Medical Officer of Health and told that they must notify promptly thereon
any change of address.
If time permits, infected quarters are put under disinfection by the Sanitary
Inspector who removes the case in the River, otherwise they are sealed and disinfected
by the Sanitary Inspector who visits the vessel when she arrives at her berth.
The usual method of disinfection of quarters is spraying with Izal solution,
followed by fumigation with Sulphur Dioxide. Infected bedding, clothing,&c., is
removed by launch for disinfection by steam at the Isolation Hospital.
Vessels proceeding up the River Medway are dealt with by a part-time Medical
Officer from Sheerness, whose duty it is to visit, as soon as possible, every vessel on
which sickness is reported by His Majesty's Customs, and to board within about
twelve hours of arrival every other vessel from " foreign " remaining within the
jurisdiction of the Port of London Sanitary Authority.
Cases of infectious disease from such vessels would be removed to the Port
Sanitary Authority's Hospital at Denton.
The cleansing of persons can now be carried out efficiently and promptly at the
new bathing and disinfecting station at the Authority's Hospital.
Three motor launches are available for the transport of cases of infectious disease
within the Port.
The Boarding Medical Officers always make enquiries in regard to the occurrence
of venereal disease on vessels they board, and give advice as to when and where
treatment is obtainable.