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(c) Cleansing and disinfection of ships, persons, clothing and other articles.
Disinfection of infected quarters is usually carried out by the Public Health Inspector in
whose area the vessel berths. If, however, the space requiring disinfection is large, a private
firm is employed to carry out the disinfection under the supervision of the Public Health Inspector.
The Disinfection Station at Denton Hospital is by arrangement with the South East Metropolitan
Regional Hospital Board and the Dartford Hospital Management Committee made available to
the Port Health Authority for the disinfection of clothing, bedding, etc., and, if necessary, for
the cleansing of persons.
Arrangements have also been made for disinfected bedding from ships in the docks of the
London Area to be sent to the disinfection station of the East Ham Corporation.
SECTION VII - SMALLPOX
1. Name of Isolation Hospital to which smallpox cases are sent from the District.
Long Reach Hospital is situated on the south bank of the River Thames about eight miles
above Gravesend. The hospital consists of 10 ward blocks capable of accommodating 170
patients but,except in cases of emergency, only three ward blocks (2 of 20 beds and 1, a cubicle
ward of 10 beds), total 50 beds, are kept available for immediate use. The hospital includes
residential quarters for the staff and a laundry, although the administration and staffing is
carried out from Joyce Green Hospital, Dartford.
2. Arrangements for transport of such cases to that hospital by ambulance giving the name of
the Authority responsible for the ambulance and the vaccinal state of the ambulance crews.
A case or cases of smallpox would be removed from the vessel by this Authority's Ambulance
launch and conveyed ashore via the pontoon at Denton and from thence conveyed by road ambulance
direct to Long Reach Hospital.
The Port Health Authority would be responsible for the vaccinal state of their Ambulance
Launch crews, while the vaccinal state of the Road Ambulance personnel would be the concern
of the South-East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board under whose jurisdiction both Joyce
Green and Long Reach Hospitals fall.
3. Names of smallpox consultants available.
Dr. J.V. Armstrong Dr. H.S. Banks Dr. W.T.G. Boul
Dr. W.J. Coughlan Dr. J.P. Marsden
4. Facilities for laboratory diagnosis of smallpox.
Facilities are available at the Virus Laboratory at the Central Public Health Laboratory
at Colindale.
SUSPECTED SMALLPOX - s.s. "STRATHNAVER"
Advance Information
On the 25th February, 1960, information was received from the Medical Superintendent of the
P. & 0. Steam Navigation Company, that the Surgeon of the s.s. "Strathnaver" which was due in
London on the 28th February from Sydney, via Bombay, had reported a member of the Goanese
crew as having an illness in which there was "a suspicion of this being a modified form of
Smallpox".
On the 26th February, the P. & 0. Steam Navigation Co., having had a reply to a cable to
the Ship's Surgeon asking for additional information, were able to add':
(1) On the second day of the illness the patient had produced a second crop of spots;
(2) He had been vaccinated eight months previously;
(3) The Surgeon now considered the case to be probably one of Chickenpox; and
(4) Clinical specimens had been sent by air from Marseilles to the Central Public Health
Laboratory at Colindale.
Preparations to meet the ship
In the light of the later information, it was felt that Chickenpox was the most likely diagnosis
and that "Operation Brixham" was not called for.
It was, however, decided to make all other preparations for the major possibility and
accordingly :
(a) A 'full team"was ordered to be at Gravesend on Sunday morning, 28th February;
(b) Dr. W.T.G. Boul, a Ministry of Health Smallpox Consultant, was invited to be present;
(c) Reserve supplies of Vaccine Lymph and Surveillance Cards were sent to Gravesend ;
(d) The crew of the "Alfred Roach" were to be on duty in addition to the normal running of
the "Howard Deighton";
(e) Dr. J. Pickford Marsden, Medical Superintendent of the Smallpox Hospital at Joyce
Green, was informed of the possibility of a case of Smallpox arriving in the Port. He
replied that he could receive a case at two hours notice.
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