Dr. Theodore Thomson's report to the Local Government Board on an outbreak of enteric fever in the urban district of Bicester.

  • Thomson, Theodore.
Date:
1896
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. Theodore Thomson's report to the Local Government Board on an outbreak of enteric fever in the urban district of Bicester. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    persons in the third group mainly water from Mrs. Woodcock’s well; and persons in the fourth group mainly water from the Brockless spring. These facts suggested that the specific contagium of enteric fever had gained access to each of these several springs and wells, and had thus obtained entrance to the bodies of persons making use of water therefrom. Inquiry was accordingly made as to whether the circumstances and surroundings of these sources of water supply had been such as to allow their becoming dangerously polluted. The Crockwell Spring, which, was the main source of supply of the first group of persons attacked, is situated, as shown on the map, on the western boundary of the chief area of invasion of the fever, lying at the junction of Field Street and St. John Street. It is completely covered in ; its water rising into the lower extremity of a 30-inch vertical stoneware pipe some 8 feet in length, over the upper end of which is laid a flagstone at the ground level. Water is obtained from it by means of a pump. As will be seen from the map, the sewers in Field Street and St. John Street converge to the neigh¬ bourhood of this spring, near which they join, and the joint sewer thus formed passes close to the spring. On the occurrence of the outbreak of fever in October 1895 the greater portion of the Field Street sewer and part of the St. John Street sewer near the spring were exposed, and both of these sewers were then found to be leaking freely into the surrounding soil at several points. The point at which these two sewers join is at a distance of 8 feet from the Crockwell spring, and it was found that this junction had been made by knocking a hole in one of the pipes forming the Field Street sewer and applying to this hole the extremity of one of the pipes forming the St. John Street sewer, while over the partial gap thus left a piece of stone was cemented.* Also itwTas found that at this point of junction free leakage was going on into the surrounding soil, which is stated to have been quite black. During one of my visits to Bicester, in April 1896, I had this junction again exposed, and found that these conditions remained unaltered. At this date the Field Street sewer close to this point of junction was half full of black silt. The Well in Plough Terrace Yard, which mainly formed the water supply of the second group of cases, is stated to be a shallow dry-steined well. Within 4 feet of it was a urinal (now abolished) attached to a public-house. The floor of this urinal was paved with brick, but I was informed that it had been usual for the adjacent wall and unpaved yard soil to be used for urinal purposes. The drain of the urinal was within 6 feet of the Plough Terrace well, while the drain of the public-house yard was within about 15 feet of this well. Reference to the map will show that the Plough Terrace well lies within and towards the apex of a triangle formed by the Field Street and the New Buildings sewers, from neither of which is it far distant. Mrs. Woodcock’s Well, which mainly supplied the third group of persons attacked, is situated, as shown on the map, behind one of the houses abutting on Field Street. It is shallow and dry-steined, and when attention was directed to it by the occurrence of fever among persons drinking this water it was found that the yard drain, which passed within a few inches of the well, was leaking freely and its contents visibly percolating into the well. This yard drain received water-closet sewage as well as sink and yard drainage. The Brockless Spring, which mainly supplied the fourth group of cases, is an open spring situated to the west of the chief area of invasion, and on the bank of the Bicester Brook. It is surrounded on three sides by gardens which are under cultivation and freely manured, and a vault privy is situated about 45 feet from it. Within some 30 feet of it passes the sewer previously alluded to as formed by the junction of the Field Street and St. John Street sewers. The condition of this sewer in the neighbourhood of the spring is unknown; but that part of the sewer which lies in the adjacent field where a cesspool is shown on the map was found, when uncovered seven years ago, to contain much silt and to be leaking at many points. The Brockless spring is about 6^ feet below the ground level, and the sewer, at the point uhere it passes the spring, is said to be about 5 feet below the surface of the ground. * Both these sewers are constructed of 9-inch sanitary pipes. A 4s