§ MR. WATT (Glasgow, College)I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to an epidemic of typhoid fever in Kelvinside, Glasgow; whether this outbreak has been traced to the selling of milk from a farm where there was a typhoid patient; at what date did his Department or the local authority become aware of these facts; on what date was the first action taken to stop the sale of milk from that farm; and whether, in view of the number of deaths that have resulted he will issue instructions which will in future prevent delays between the knowledge of the facts and the action resulting from them.
§ THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Mr. SINCLAIR,) ForfarshireI have made inquiry and have been informed by the Local Government Board that the source of infection in the earlier cases was traced—not to a typhoid patient, but to a healthy woman, who had had typhoid fever sixteen years ago, and was still capable of spreading the disease, thus acting as a "carrier" case. This woman was employed on a farm, but her condition was not discovered until some weeks after the beginning of the outbreak. The first notification was received by 1143 the city authorities on 17th December, and two others followed on 18th and 19th. On the last-mentioned date a large milk supply was suspected in Glasgow, and on the following day one of the sources of supply was reported to the county medical officer for inquiry. The farm was visited on Saturday, 21st December, by the assistant medical officer, who found a dairy worker being treated for pneumonia. The time between this date and the 24th was fully occupied in completing a very difficult diagnosis, with the result that the case was found to be one of typhoid fever complicated with pneumonia. This patient, to whose illness some of the later cases in the city were due, was removed as soon as typhoid symptoms were detected to hospital on the evening of 24th December, and the premises were disinfected. For some days the milk was sterilised by the city dairyman, who then ceased taking Milk from the farm. The milk however, was sold in another dairy in Glasgow without any bad result. The difficulty, therefore, in controlling this short epidemic was due mainly to (1st) the impossibility of discovering, without prolonged investigation, typhoid germs in the healthy woman; and (2nd) the complications involved in ascertaining the true nature of the illness of the patient removed to hospital on 24th. But once the disease and infection were recognised, and the patient removed to hospital, there was no need to stop the milk supply. The facts show that the city and county authorities conducted their investigations with promptitude, and that no delay occurred between the knowledge of the facts and the action resulting from them, and, accordingly, I see no ground for issuing instructions to any of the authorities concerned.