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Landing Stage prior to the release of passengers for disembarkation - Captain Bridges
the Marine Superintendent of the P. & 0. Co, and five Baggage Clerks. These six
persons were vaccinated on the Stage before they boarded the ship. Incidentally the
Pilot and seven P. & 0. Officials who boarded the ship at Brixham were vaccinated
with the rest of the passengers and crew on arrival at Tilbury, i.e., two days aftc
boarding.
17. The body of the deceased was intorred at Tilbury under Dr. Boul's supervision
and the deceased's wife, Mrs. A. .as sent directly by ambulance to the Clandon
Isolation hospital, near Guildford, where she died of smallpox two days later.
13. Each passenger and member of the crew was furnished with a yellow "Business
Reply" card instructing them to notify any change of address during the next sixtec
days. This was completed by Dr. V.illoughby and the members of the Port Health
Staff by 2.30 a.m., on Sunday morning, 3rd April, and the passengers were then permitted
to disembark and proceed to their destinations.
The members of the Port Health Staff returned to the Central Office in Guildhs
on Sunday morning and the addresses of the 1,136 persons (passengers, crew, pilots
Customs Officers, Immigration and other Port officials) disembarking from the ship
were traced to the local sanitary areas to which they were proceeding. These
persons proceeded to 342 addresses in 233 different administrative areas throughout
the United Kingdom and Eire and by 7.0 p.m., the samo evening notifications had
been addressed and dispatched via the G.P.O., to the 283 individual Medical
Officers of Health concerned together with a covering note prepared by myself informing
the Medical Officers of the circumstances and advising daily medical
supervision until the 18th April, i.e., 16 days after disembarkation.
19. The ship having disembarked her passengers, proceeded later the same day to
No® 4 Berth in the King George V. Dock. Measures taken to sterilise all probable
sources of infection in cabins and other compartments on board the ship.
20. The Ship's Surgeon on transferring Mr. A, and his wife from their cabin to the
Isolation Accommodation fumigated the cabin with formaldehyde and locked it up.
This cabin actually remained locked until 14th April when it was opened up for the
purposes of cleansing and re-painting.
21. First steps taken were to ascertain the cabins occupied by the steward,
stewardess and any other attendants upon Mr. and Mrs. A. These cabins were promptl
closed and fumigated. In addition the cabins of the two nursing sisters and the
Ship Surgeons were also fumigated, as was also the isolation hospital.
22. This, it was thought, was sufficient as the first stage for combating obvious
sources of infection from close contact with the patient. Meanwhile it had been
ascertained that a large quantity of dirty linen comprising some 55,000 pieces used
by passengers, which included linen from close contacts such as sisters, stewards,
stewardesses, medical staff and others, had been dispatched in accordance with
routine as soon as the vessel had arrived in the King George V. Dock, to a public
laundry for washing.
23. The laundry was said to be situated in the Lambeth area and immediate contact
was therefore made with the Medical Officer of Health, Dr® Thompson, who undertook
to make enquiries and if this was in fact the case to carry out the necessary
vaccination and supervision of the laundry staff that might be involved. It was,
however, ascertained later that the linen had not been dealt with at this branch of
the Advance Laundries but had been transferred to another Advance Laundry in trie
Hendon area at Childs Hill. Contact was therefore made with Dr. Adamson the
Medical Officer of Health of Hendon, who in turn undertook to carry out the
necessary preventive measures.
24. A further supply of laundry which had not been sent to the public laundries
referred to above but was awaiting disposal was sent to Denton Isolation Hospital
for steam disinfection as also were a number of mattresses from the cabins of knowi
close contacts. These pieces were eventually collected, the mattresses being
returned to the ship and tho Laundry sent to the Advance Laundry Branch in
Dagenham for laundering. A Certificate was issued declaring that the pieces had
been subjected to steam disinfection and were free from all infection and could
be loan died in the normal manner. Notification of the circumstances was made to
the Medical Officer of Health, Dagenham, Dr. Herington. Meanwhile discussions took
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