[Report 1920] / Medical Officer of Health, Essex County Council.

  • Essex County Council
Date:
1920
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1920] / Medical Officer of Health, Essex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    10/50 (page 7)
    SMALL-POX. During the first six months of 1920 a mild outbreak of small-pox (31 cases j G proving fatal) occurred in the South-western portion of the County, commencing! in January with 3 cases. This is the largest outbreak recorded since the severe! epidemic in 1902. The cases occurred in the following Sanitary Districts during the] months shewn :--- Sanitary District. Grays Urban Ilford Urban Leyton Urban Tilbury Urban Orsett Rural Romford Rural Totals Jan. 1 Feb. - 1 1 2 — Mar. G 1 1 2 A pi. 5 4 4 May. June. Total. — — 12 — — 1 — — 2 -r — 8 — 3 7 10 13 - 3 31 Sixteon of the cases were treated at the Orsett Small-pox Hospital, and one at the Orsett Union (see Case No. 9); the remaining 14 were admitted to the Metro- politan Asylum Board’s Hospitals at the special request of the Ministry of Health. During the same period, according to information n eived, case- currcd in adjoining areas as follows:—Londo County 23, London Port G, Middi -ex 1, West Ham Borough 25, East Haiti Borough 11, total 71, some of which were undoubtedly traceable to the sources at Grays and Tilbury. There were many other cas* s in different parts of the United Kingdom. A summary of the cases which occurred in the Administrative County, with a brief description of each, is given below :— CRse No. Date notified. 1. 15-1-20. The first case notified was a Grays resident (female aged 20) employed at Purfleet, who c the 27th December, 1919, visited the s.s. Devanha which arrived off Gravesend on the 2-itli December from Bombay. This vessel had called at the Ports of Aden, Suez, Port Said, Marseilles and Gibraltar on the voyage, and on the 12th December a steward developed the rash of small-pox : he was removed to the Denton hospital on the arriv 1 of the ship on 24th December, 1919. Bombay was considered to be the place of infection. Patient No. 1 had been vaccinated in infancy and the attack proved to be a mild one ; she entered the Orsett Small-pox Hospital on 19th January and was discharged on 12th February. This patient thus created two foci of infection at Grays and Purfleet, as well as coining into contact with persons whilst travelling to and from those centres. Fourteen contacts, were traced, all of whom had been vaccinated or re-vaccinated, and these were kept tinder close observation for eighteen days.