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18
pert retained for the purpose by the London County Council—
visited the patient. He was unable to decide whether it was
a case of Plague or not until a Bacteriological examination had
been made of the patient's blood. This, of course, would take
a little time, and in the meantime the patient was removed to
premises belonging to the County Council in Butcher Row.
The result of the Bacteriological examination fortunately
proved that it was not Plague. About two months before this
happened, the Board—recognising the fact that this district
comprises a long river frontage and that a large number of
dock labourers and others coming in direct contact with ships
coming from abroad, live in this district—issued a circular to
Medical Practitioners residing or practising in the district.
In this circular their attention was called to the fact that
several cases of Plague had occurred in this country, and as
the absence of opportunity of studying the clinical aspects of
the disease, the Board desired to submit for their information,
the various modes of onset of the disease in as concise a form
as possible. I may add that the London County Council issued
pamphlets of a similar nature, two months after the Board had
distributed theirs.
Housing of the Working Classes.
The King John's Court Area is now cleared of the houses
and is ready to be built upon. It has taken several years to have
this area cleared. During 1893 and the early part of 1894, the
area was visited by the Sanitary Committee on several occasions.
In July, 1894, the Board passed a resolution that the
closeness, narrowness, and bad condition of the buildings, and
the want of light, air, proper conveniences and other sanitary
defects in the buildings, rendered the Area dangerous to the
health of the inhabitants. That the demolition and rearrangement
of the buildings were necessary to remedy the
evils, and that the site was too small to be dealt with as an
unhealthy area under Part I.