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Nothing further transpired to alter the diagnosis of chickenpox. Disinfection of the crew's
quarters was arranged on the spot by the Chief Sanitary Inspector.
s.s. "MALTESE PRINCE" - PARATYPHOID FEVER
When this vessel arrived off Gravesend on the 11th October, the Boarding Medical Officer,
Dr. R. MacLean, reported that the 2nd Engineer, was suffering from a fever of unknown origin.
The patient was admitted to the Thurrock Isolation Hospital, for observation.
Subsequently Dr. W. T. G. Boul of the Thurrock Hospital reported that the patient was suffering
from paratyphoid fever.
As, by this time the vessel had left London, the Shipping Company were immediately informed
of the circumstances and their attention drawn to the probable sources of infection, e.g., fruit,
vegetables, water, milk, ice cream, etc.
On the 22nd October the Shipping Company reported that a member of the crew — an Apprentice
who had been 'paid off' had been taken ill while at his home in Leicester, where he had been
attended by his own doctor who had diagnosed him to be suffering from influenza.
In view of the circumstances this diagnosis aroused suspicion and as a precaution the Medical
Officer of Health of Leicester and the medical practitioner attending the patient,were immediately
informed by telephone of the case of paratyphoid on the vessel, the details of which were confirmed
by letter.
This action was amply justified, for the Medical Officer of Health of Leicester reported that an
organism, which was most probably Salm. paratyphoid B, had been isolated from both blood and
faeces of the patient.
Meanwhile it was ascertained that the vessel would be arriving back in London on the 22nd
October and was due to berth in the West India Dock at about 6.0 p.m.
The Shipping Company were requested to contact the Boarding Medical Officer on arrival at
Gravesend by blowing "Q" on the siren and to have all bedding, effects, etc., used by the
patient locked up pending the vessel's arrival in dock where it would be dealt with by the
Sanitary Inspector. The Company were also requested to furnish a complete list of the names and
addresses of the crew. Both the Boarding Medical Officer and the Sanitary Inspector concerned
were informed of the arrangements made.
The vessel duly arrived from Grangemouth at 12.30 p.m., on the 22nd October and was boarded
at Gravesend by Dr. Jones who reported that most of the Officers and a number of the original
crew had proceeded on leave and had been replaced by a relieving crew for the voyage to London,
all of whom reported "well".
The Sanitary Inspector on the West India Dock, Mr. G. Dring, visited the vessel first thing on
Monday morning, 24th October, and on enquiry ascertained that two further members of the
original crew had reported ill with "influenza" while on leave, one residing in Glasgow and the
other in Chiswick, W.4. In both instances the local Medical Officer of Health was immediately
notified by telephone and a confirmatory letter was sent.
Investigation of these two cases showed that the patient in Glasgow, when visited, was found
to be quite well, that the illness from which he had recently recovered appeared to have been of
a respiratory type and that a specimen of faeces submitted had been found to be negative,
whereas the patient in Chiswick who was another Apprentice, was also suffering from an illness
which was finally diagnosed by hospital and laboratory investigations to be paratyphoid B.
Meanwhile the Sanitary Inspector carried out a thorough disinfection of the infected quarters,
the bedding, effects, etc., being submitted to steam disinfection ashore. Samples of the vessel's
drinking water were sent for bacteriological examination, the results being satisfactory.
It was decided, as a further precaution, to send those members of the crew most likely to have
been in close contact with the paratyphoid cases or who had been engaged in the preparation or
handling of food on board, to the Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich, for a stool test.
In all, 14 members of the crew attended the Seamen's Hospital and in all cases the results of
the tests were negative.
In addition two further members of the crew coming within the above category but who had been
'paid off' and had not returned to the ship, were notified to the Medical Officers of Health of the
district in which they were residing and in both cases the results of tests carried out on them
were negative.
One interesting point emerges from the numerous enquiries made in an attempt to trace the
origin of this minor epidemic. It would appear that the three members of the crew affected were
all keen swimmers and took every possible opportunity of bathing when the vessel anchored in
ports abroad, namely, Alexandria, Beirut, Tripoli, Latakia and Iskenderon, where it is known that
the water in the harbours is regularly contaminated by sewage and that paratyphoid fever is
endemic.
Your Medical Officer visited the ship the night before she sailed for a final check and in the
course of his enquiries was able to interrogate a third apprentice, the sole 'survivor' of the three
apprentices carried by the vessel on her previous voyage, his two colleagues being both victims
of the paratyphoid fever. He had been a constant companion of the other two and confirmed that
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