Dr. Ballard's report, to the Local Government Board, on a series of cases of acute specific disease (similar to that observed in the Welbeck outbreak) following the eating of hot baked pork purchased at a shop in Nottingham / [Edward Ballard].

  • Ballard, Edward, 1820-1897.
Date:
1881
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. Ballard's report, to the Local Government Board, on a series of cases of acute specific disease (similar to that observed in the Welbeck outbreak) following the eating of hot baked pork purchased at a shop in Nottingham / [Edward Ballard]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    LIBRARY Ballard’s Report, to the Local Government Board, on a series f cases of Acute Specific Disease (similar to that observed in the Welbeck outbreak) following the eating of hot baked pork purchased at a shop in Nottingham. George Buchanan, Medical Department, June 18, 1881. On February‘ 18, it became known to the Board through Dr. Seaton, the Medical .cer or Health, that a series of cases of illness, resembling in character the Welbeck series which I reported on last year, had occurred in Nottingham, apparently in con¬ sequence of the sufferers having partaken of hot baked pork supplied from a particular cook-shop m the town. One of the sufferers had died, and an inquest held upon tnis person had been adjourned in order that a post-mortem examination of the body might be made. I was accordingly instructed to investigate the circumstances of the alleged illnesses. I found that Dr. Seaton had already gathered a good deal of infor¬ mation about them, and I had the benefit of his able assistance in the further inquiry. feo far as could be discovered, it appears that 15 persons were taken ill after eating the pork; these persons were members of five different households. Of the 15 persons 10 (members of four of these households) attributed their illness to pork fetched and eaten on the evening of Friday, February 11: four (members of two of these households) attributed their illnesses to pork fetched and eaten on Saturday, February 12, and one person attributed her illness to pork eaten both on the 11th and on tiie 12th. All ese persons resided only a short distance from the shop whence the pork was pur- chased. The occurrence of the illnesses speedily became notorious, and I think it most probable that if many more than these 15 persons had been taken ill, we should have heard of them. It is certain that by far the largest proportion of persons who con- sinned the pork supplied from the shop on those two clays must have escaped illness. 1 have notes of nine persons who thus ate of them and were not taken ill. The following is a tabular statement of the members of the five households who were ascertained to have been taken ill:— cn 2 o -a <u CO 3 O Persons Attacked. 6 Date and hour of Eating. Date of Attack. Severity of Illness. Result. w <i 1 James C. - 23 Friday, Feb. 11, 6 p.m. Feb. 12, in course of fore- Severe Died Feb. 15. Mrs. C. (his wife) - 19 yy yy yy noon. yy yy yy Slight Recovered. 2 Mr. F. Mrs. F. (his wife) - 28 28 » „ 8.15 p.m. - yy yy yy Feb. 12, 9 a.m. - „ about noon Slight Sharp attack Recovered. Recovered. 3 Mrs. T. Herbert T. (her son) Jane T. (servant) - Mrs. T., senior 34 14 19 64 „ „ 9 p.m. yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy also Saturday, Feb. 12, 11.30 „ 4 p.m. - „ 5 p.m. - ,, tea time „ about 12 at night yy yy Severe Sharp attack Recovered. Recovered. Recovered. Recovered. James T. (cousin) - p.m. 19 Saturday, Feb. 12,11.30 p.m. Feb. 13, tea time Slight Recovered. 4 Mr. H. 29 Friday, Feb. 11, 9.30 p.m. - ,, 8 a.m. - Moderately sharp Recovered. Mrs. H. (his wife) - Mr. H. (lodger) 24 20 yy yy yy yy yy yy Feb. 12, 10 p.m. - Feb. 13, on rising in morn- attack. Sharp attack yy Recovered. Recovered. xng. 5 Mr. H. Mrs. H. (his wife) - Annie K. (lodger) - 23 22 19 Saturday, Feb, 12, 6 p.m. - » yy yy » » » Feb. 13, 8 p.m. - „ forenoon „ 12 at night Slight Severe Sharp attack Recovered. Recovered. Recovered. In some of these households there were members who did not partake of the pork and did not suffer illness, but in each of the five households every one who partook of the pork suffered more or less. In this series of cases a period varying from 12 to about 34 hours elapsed, after partaking of the pork, before definite symptoms of illness occurred. In 10 of the Q 6477. Wt. 2906. • A