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34
Perhaps connected with these cases was the following : William
B. aged 8 years, 41, N. Street was notified on the 13th May as
suffering from smallpox and was removed to hospital. He had
never been vaccinated. Subsequently the mother admitted that
two of her other children Florrie, aged 9 years and Rosie, aged 6
years had had some weeks previous to William falling ill a few spots
on their face and arms (although at the time of William's removal
she denied to me on my visit of enquiry that any other of the
children had been ill), and although these two were vaccinated
twice after William's removal to hospital the operation failed on both
occasions. These facts I obtained from Dr. Rickets, the Medical
Superintendent to the Smallpox Hospitals, and he further added in
connection with these cases "From these facts it may be presumed
that Florrie and Rosie were insusceptible to vaccination. But
natural insusceptibility to vaccination is extremely rare, and it
follows almost certainly that these two children had acquired their
immunity from previous attacks of smallpox. I suggest that these
attacks were recent, and that they preceded and originated the
attack in the case of the brother William."
The dates of the appearance of the eruption on Florrie and Rosie
are very indefinite but it is not improbable that the illness of the
H's who lived next door may have been connected with these cases.
One other case of smallpox occurred in the district, that is Chas.
H. aged 31 years, of 20, A. Road. The case was brought to my
notice by the patient calling one morning on me at my office and
requesting a certificate that he was free from ill-health and fit to
return to work. It appears he had been absent from work some
time with what he thought was influenza. On examining him I
found unmistakable evidence that he had been suffering from
smallpox and had not at that time completely recovered. He had
still several scabs on his arm and legs. I notified the case and had
him removed to hospital. It appears this man worked at a workplace
in Bunhill Row, and that in all probability his infection originated
there.