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History of Case.—The patient, a lascar seaman, was taken ill on 26th August
(temp. 103° F.) On 29th August pimples appeared on his face and body and he was
isolated as a suspected case of Small-pox. On arrival at Suez the patient and his
effects were landed to hospital and the Master of the vessel given to understand that
it was a case of Chicken-pox. This diagnosis appears to have been revised, as the
Bill of Health was endorsed "suspected Small-pox." As a precautionary measure,
the whole of the crew were vaccinated and complete disinfection was carried out at
Suez. The patient joined the ship at Calcutta and was ashore in Madras on
15th August, where apparently he contracted the infection of Small-pox.
Action in London.—The vessel arrived off Gravesend at 5.40 p.m. on 11th
September and was boarded by Dr. Kidd, who examined the whole of the crew; all
were found to be well. The isolation hospital and crew's quarters were again fumigated
with sulphur dioxide and washed down with a disinfecting solution.
The whole of the crew, with the exception of the chief engineer, wireless operator
and two apprentices, joined the ss. "Gallic" at Falmouth on 14th September. The
natives travelled by charabanc and the Europeans by train from Paddington. The
facts were forwarded to the Medical Officer of Health of Falmouth for his information.
The names and addresses of those proceeding home were forwarded to the Medical
Officers concerned.
Chicken-pox on ss. "Somali."
The ss. "Somali" arrived off Gravesend on 9th April and was boarded by Dr. Kidd.
A native member of the crew had been landed at Colombo on 19th March, suffering from
Chicken-pox. A second case was landed at Marseilles on 1st April. On arrival in
London all the crew appeared to be well. The ship left London on 12th April and
proceeded to Rotterdam, Dunkirk, Antwerp and back to London. During this
voyage eight cases of Chicken-pox occurred. Three more cases occurred while the
vessel was in this Port.
This shows how an epidemic of Chicken-pox will run through a native crew.
Presumably they are not immunised by exposure to infection in early life as most
adults are in this country.
Paratyphoid on ss. "Afric Star."
The ss. "Afric Star" arrived off Gravesend on 22nd April from Buenos Aires,
Rio Grande de Sol, Santos, San Sebastian and Teneriffe. She was boarded by
Dr. Willoughby, who inspected the crew and found no evidence of infectious disease.
Next day one of the crew was removed to the Royal Albert Dock Hospital as a
suspected case of food poisoning. Later five more cases were removed. Three of the
cases were subsequently diagnosed at Paratyphoid B. It appears that infection took
place ashore, probably in Santos.
V.—MEASURES AGAINST RODENTS.
(1) Steps taken for the detection of rodent Plague:—
(a) The Port Sanitary Authority employs six Assistant Rat Officers.
Each Assistant Rat Officer has his own district, corresponding to the district of a
Sanitary Inspector, under whose guidance he works. An Assistant Rat Officer's first
duty is the examination of such ships in his district as are due for inspection under
Article 28 of the International Sanitary Convention relative to the granting of
Deratisation and Deratisation Exemption Certificates. His second duty is to visit
ships arriving in his district from Plague-infected ports, to search for dead rats and,
if possible, to obtain specimens of live rats trapped on board. He is required to
re-visit such vessels daily during the discharge of cargo, to ascertain whether dead
rats have been found in the holds. The existence of rodent Plague on board any
vessel in the Port should thus be detected at the earliest possible moment.