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SUSPECTED YELLOW FEVER s.s. MACHAON
On the 9th June the Medical Superintendent of Alfred Holt & Co. reported that a case of
suspected yellow fever had occurred on the s.s. "MACHAON" which was due in London orr the
15th June.
The facts, as given, were that a second Steward had reported sick prior to reaching Suez and
was seen on arrival there by a doctor who diagnosed Acute Pharyngitis. The patient was allowed
to proceed in the ship but his condition deteriorated and arrangements were made for the ship to
rendezvous with a German ship which had a doctor on board. The doctor apparently stayed with
the patient until he died on the 5th June and gave a certificate indicating that in his opinion the
cause of death was suspected yellow fever. The body was subsequently buried at sea.
The ship's movements covering the period in question were:
Arrived Trincomalee 22nd May — departed 25th May.
Arrived Colombo 26th May—departed 26th May.
Arrived Djibouti 1st June — departed 2nd June.
Arrived Suez 5th June — departed Port Said 7th June.
The vessel was due to reach London on the 15th June.
As the Weekly Bulletin of the World Health Organisation showed no yellow fever in French
Somaliland, it seemed likely that the case was not yellow fever but probably malaria.
Prior to the vessel arriving at Gravesend, a radio message was received from the ship reporting
also a suspected case of dengue fever in a steward's boy, the symptoms given in the message,
however, indicated that this was in fact a case of malaria.
The ship arrived in London on the 15th June and from the Captain's notes prepared by the
Male Nurse there was little doubt that the first case had died of cerebral malaria and not of yellow
fever as we had been led to believe.
The second case was found to be one of severe malaria and was at once transferred to Denton
Hospital. But for the efficient action of the male nurse on the s.s. "MACHAON", who had
promptly administered anti-malarial drugs, this patient would have almost certainly suffered alike
fate as the first case. The Medical Officer brought to the notice of the Shipping Company the
valuable work of this male nurse who also had the initiative to take a blood smear before giving
the anti-malarial drugs and so facilitated early diagnosis as soon as the case was landed.
Incidents of this kind again emphasise the advisability of Masters of ships trading with
malaria infected ports to keep in mind the vital importance of observing appropriate anti-malarial
measures and, in this respect, the Medical Officer was in touch with the Chief Medical Officer
of the Marine Crews Division of the Ministry of Transport. The owners of the "Machaon" undertook
to instruct all their Masters as to malaria precautions.
SUSPECTED SMALLPOX s.s. "CARTHAGE"
On the evening of February 11th, the Medical Officer received a telephone call at his home
from Dr. Hugh Willoughby, Deputy Medical Officer for the Port, that he had been consulted by
one of the Junior Boarding Medical Officers who was on duty that day, about messages received
from the P. & O. Line concerning the impending arrival at the United Kingdom of their ship
s.s. "Carthage" on which there was reported to be a case of suspected smallpox.
The Medical Officer and his Deputy worked out arrangements in this and in subsequent
telephone conversations over the weekend, including the obtaining of 1,000 doses of smallpox
vaccine from Colindale Public Health Laboratory on the Sunday morning, for transmission by
passenger train to Gravesend and collection there by a member of the Port Health Staff, for use
if need be when the "Carthage" arrived at Higham Bight (just down river from Gravesend) on
the morning of the 13th February.
Subsequent events are well reported by Dr. Hugh Willoughby whose account is reproduced
below. It confirms the substance of his telephone call to the Medical Officer on the morning of
the 13thFebruary at the Ministry of Health,where he was then visiting the Medical Officer in that
Department who is particularly concerned with these affairs and who was able to hear over the
telephone at first hand from Dr. Willoughby what had been happening.
"s.s. Carthage
" Message received in 'Hygeia' at 1710 hours on Saturday, 11th February, 1961 from the
Medical Superintendent P. & O/Orient Line that this ship had on board a suspected case of
smallpox in a Goanese member of the crew.
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