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opened, it should not be used again. It would be far better that a good proportion
of the lymph supplied to ships should be in one-dose tubes to overcome this
difficultyI propose to report this matter to the Committee revising the Ship
Captain's Medical Guide and Medical Scales I for Passenger Ships carrying a Surgeon.
3. Finally, I -would raise a point of interest to the comfort of passengers.
Throughout the Saturday preceding arrival at Tilbury, the passengers were required
to queue up twice, first for examination for health and again for immigration
requirements• The result is that they spent the whole of Saturday waiting
in long queues whereas the two requirements could without any inconvenience
either to the Port Medical Officer or to the Immigration authorities have
been combined into one queueing. Inspections of this kind are not popular
with passengers and if they can be ameliorated in any way, so much the better,
Dr. M.T. Morgan
Medical Officer of Health
Port of London.
S.S. "SUSSEX OAK" - SUSPECTED SMALLPOX
On the 24th October the master of the "Sussex Oak" telephoned to say that two
members of the native crew of the above-mentioned vessel had been sent to the
Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich and he had since heard that they were suffering from small;
Enquiry was made at the Seamen's Hospital and it was ascertained that the two
men had been admitted to the out-patient department where they were seen by a
doctor who, not being able to arrive at a diagnosis had called in the local Medical
Officer of Health who diagnosed modified smallpox.
Movements of Vessel» Arrived Departed
Tees 30th September Tees 6th October
Tyne 7th October Tyne 9th October
Thames 11th October Thames 11th October
Blyth 13th October Blyth 14th October
Thames 15th October Thames 17th October
Blyth 18th October Blyth .20th October
Thames 22nd October (North Woolwich Buoys).
History of Cases.
Case 1. Camara (West African Fireman)
October 21st. Felt ill round about noon while on watch. Temperature normal
but went to bed. Seen by Master at 6 o'clock in the evening. Felt better and
went on watch from 8-12 p.m. No eruption seen. Seen again at 8.0 a.m. Sunday,
October 22nd when he had broken out in spots but felt better.
Case 2. Gibson (West African Fireman)
Felt ill on Sunday morning, October 22nd. Came out in spots on Monday,
October 23rd. Did not feel very well.
The Master himself took the two men to Greenwich Hospital on October 23rd at
about 9.30 a.m. They travelled by tramcar.
The doctor who saw the men said he could cure the condition and they were to
come back the next morning (Tuesday, October 24th) and see a Specialist. They
returned to the ship at Woolwich, again travelling by tramcar.
On Tuesday, October 24th, the men again presented themselves at the Seamen's
Hospital, using the tramcar as a means of conveyance. On this occasion they were
accompanied by the 2nd Mate. The patients were kept at the hospital and the 2nd
Mate returned to the ship.
The cases were seen by a Consulting Smallpox Officer in the South East
Metropolitan Region. He reported both men to have a profuse rash with some fever,
with a heavy distribution of rash on the face, on the mouth and also on the body but
the distribution on the body is rather more like chickenpox than smallpox. Nevertheless,
his doubt was such as to decide that they must be treated administratively as
cases of smallpox until they are proved otherwise by laboratory examination.
Action taken.
The vessel having travelled to and from London and North East Coast ports, and
in view of the fact that the patients gave next of kin addresses in North and South
Shields respectively, the circumstances were reported by telephone and letter to the
Medical Officer of Health of the Tyne Port Health Authority. The smallpox Specialist
lost no time in sending specimens of the pustules to the laboratory for diagnoses.
A preliminary result was available 48 hours later and showed the cases not to be
smallpox. This was confirmed two davs afterwards. (signed)M.T. MORGAN.
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