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W S R, aged 53, of Burdett Road, was taken ill on Monday, 23rd June, with
vomitting and "pains all over" The doctor was not asked to see him until
Wednesday, 25th June The patient at that time had small patches of haemorrhages
underneath the skin about the size of pins' heads Another doctor saw him on
Friday night, 27th June They did not suspect that he was in a serious condition,
nor did they anticipate fatal results When I saw the body on 28th June, I had
very little doubt that the man had died from an unusual form of Small Pox
(Haemorrhagic Small Pox)
I warned the relatives, and dealt with the case on the assumption that it was
Small Pox I arranged for the body to be immediately coffined, and taken to
the Mortuary, where it remained until the funeral, and the premises were at once
thoroughly disinfected The relatives and all those who lived or had visited the
house were advised to be immediately vaccinated The contacts were kept under
supervision The addresses of the contacts who lived outside our District were
communicated to the Medical Officers of Health for those Districts
The deceased had visited his mother in Gravesend from 7th June to 9th June,
and although there had recently been cases of Small Pox in Gravesend, it was not
discovered that he had been in contact with any one suffering from Small Pox,
or with any suspicious case of illness
On Saturday, 5th July, the widow visited Gravesend and was taken ill on
6th July with Small Pox A few days afterwards a son of the deceased, who lived
in Bethnal Green, developed Small Pox
There can, therefore, be no doubt that WSR died from Small Pox Naturally
no precautions were taken to prevent the spread of the disease during his illness
as it was not diagnosed, but every precaution was taken afterwards to limit the
spread of the disease Fortunately these four people were the only ones who
contracted Small Pox
Scaret Fever
988 cases were notified during the year, or 556 more than in the previous year ;
972 were removed to fever hospitals
188 belonged to the Limehouse District, with 3 deaths
294 belonged to St George-in-the-East, with 2 deaths
283 belonged to Mile End Old Town, with 3 deaths
223 belonged to the Whitechapel District, with 1 death
The death-rate throughout the whole Borough was at the annual rate of
03 per 1,000 of the population, or at the same rate as that for the whole of London