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R.M. S. "STRATHMORE" - SMALLPOX.
1® The R.M.S. "Strathmore" left Sydney on the 6th January, 1951, on the return
voyage to this countrye The folio-wing is a list of the ports called at
Fort. Date of arrival.
Sydney 6th January
Colombo 23rd "
Bombay 26th "
Aden 30th "
Suez 2nd February
Port Said 3rd "
Marseilles 7th "
Gravesend 12th "
On arrival at Gravesend the vessel had 833 passengers, 266 European crew and 277
Native crew. In addition, the pilot and eight members of the baggage staff of
the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company boarded the vessel at Brixham.
2. The vessel embarked at Bombay on the 26th January a lady and her two
children - a girl aged 12 and a boy aged 11.
3. The girl felt out of sorts on the 28th January and remained in her cabin.
On the 30th, the Ship's Surgeon was called in to see her and he found on examination
her temperature to be 103., with pulse 120, but no other signs or symptoms. On
the morning of the 31st her temperature was 102°, but in the evening the Ship's
Surgeon found that she was developing a vesicular rash, the first spots appearing
on the left scapula and on the forehead, arms and legs. He promptly admitted
her to the ship's isolation hospital. On the 1st February the vesicular rash was
developing with a distribution the Surgeon thought to be indicative of chickenpox.
More vesicles appeared on the 2nd, the 3rd and the 4th February® Her temperature
was 99° on the 4th but it dropped to normal on the 5th®
4. The Surgeon states that he was not altogether certain that the case was
typical chickenpox, but he was reassured somewhat by the confirmation of his
diagnosis by the Port Medical Officer at Suez, who stated that he considered the
case to be one of chickenpox and gave as one reason the fact that the child had a
pock in the armpit and this did not occur in smallpox - incidentally, a totally
erroneous conception. The child continued to be regarded, therefore, by the
Ship's Surgeon as a case of chickenpox and the mother, who had been admitted to
isolation at the same time as the child, was permitted to leave isolation and to
take her meals in the saloon - a somewhat unfortunate decision it must be confessed,
5. On the arrival of the ship at Marseilles, the case was seen by the Port
Medical Officer who, again, agreed with the diagnosis of chickenpox.
6. By the time the ship had arrived at Tilbury on the 12th, the child was
convalescent and the Boarding Medical Officer who saw her at 6.50 a.m., agreed with
the diagnosis of chickenpox and arranged for the child to be admitted to the
St. Andrew Annexe Isolation Hospital, Gooseberry Green, Billericay. The child,
being a female, could not be admitted to Denton Isolation Hospital, all the
nurses at Denton being male nurses®
7. At 11 p.m. on the 13th, Dr. Boul rang me up at my residence to inform me that
he was not at all happy with the diagnosis of chickenpox, and he considered the
child to be suffering from modified smallpox. His view was confirmed by Dr. Jamesj
Medical Superintendent of Hither Green, whom he had called in in consultation. His
grounds for regarding the case as one of smallpox were
first, the distribution of the rash, which, though sparse, was chiefly
scattered on the head and face, and the arms and legs, with very few spots
on the trunk;
secondly, he had ascertained that the child had had -what the mother
called "a classic attack of chickenpox" as recently as May 1950 and it was,
therefore, highly unlikely that the child vas suffering from a second attack,
which is an extremely rare occurrence.
8. On the following morning (the 14th), after consultation with Dr. Bradley,
Ministry of Health, it was agreed that, after the removal of some scabs to be sent
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