Mr. Spear's report to the Local Government Board upon the prevalence of diphtheria and croup in the registration sub-district of Pontypridd, and upon the sanitary condition and administration of the sanitary areas therein contained.

  • Spear, John.
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mr. Spear's report to the Local Government Board upon the prevalence of diphtheria and croup in the registration sub-district of Pontypridd, and upon the sanitary condition and administration of the sanitary areas therein contained. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The mortality from diphtheria, croup, &c., in the several sanitary divisions of the Registration Sub-district during recent years, is shown below :— tear. Ystradyfodwg Urban (part of). Population (esti¬ mated) 6,000. Mountain Ash Urban (part of). Population (esti¬ mated) 14,000. Pontypridd Urban (part of). Population (esti¬ mated) 8,400. Pon Cilfynydd (in Pontypridd Divi¬ sion). Population (estimated) 2,000. typridd Rural Llanfabon Division. Population (estimated) 2,800. Caerphilly Division. Population (estimated) 6,200. Diphtheria. Croup. .2 « m 151 o3 A Diphtheria. Croup. Laryngitis and Pha¬ ryngitis. Diphtheria. Croup. '•C £.2 d 53 ^ Diphtheria. Croup. Laryngitis and Pha¬ ryngitis. Diphtheria. Croup. Diphtheria. Croup. 1885 1 2 _ 1 1 — 2 1 — — — — — 1 —- 1886 1 2 1 — 7 1 1 1 2 — 1 — — 1 — 2 1887 — 2 1 — 2 — 1 2 1 — — — — — 1 2 1888 — 2 — — 2 — — 4 1 7 2 1 — 2 1 — 18S9, first half — o — — 2 1 — 2 1 3 — — 2 1 — — Total - 1 9 4 — 14 3 2 11 6 10 3 1 ' 2 4 s 4 The Pontypridd Rural Sanitary District. Recent epidemic prevalence of diphtheria has been confined to Cilfynydd, a new mining village about two miles from the town of Pontypridd in the Pontypridd division of the Rural Sanitary district. Here a death was regis¬ tered as from “pharyngitis, convulsions” in January 1888. The sufferer, a girl aged 8J years, is said to have had white patches on the tonsils, external swelling about the neck, high fever and delirium. The medical man who saw the child now regards the attack as one of diphtheria. The origin of the infection had not been ascertained. A family living two doors off, friends and frequent visitors of the deceased child’s family, was infected early in February. There a child, aged 2, died on the 7th of that month from what was registered as “ croup,” and sub¬ sequently the remaining members of the household, consisting of four adults and two children, suffered from “ diphtheritic ” attacks. From this time, for about 16 months (until June 1889), the disease was never long absent from the village, although it spread slowly, and with short intervals of apparent quiescence. The number of well authenticated family invasions, and of individual cases, during the several months of this preva¬ lence, are given below. There were, however, in addition to these recognised attacks of diphtheria, many cases of more or less severe sore throat, and several of these, there is reason to believe, were due to diphtheritic infection. The master of the board school gives me the names of children of 11 families who were absent from school during the months November 1888—February 1889, suffering from severe sore throat, and, as he believes, from diphtheria, whose cases, for want of certain information as to the exact nature of the illness, are not included in the list appended. j Total. 1888. 1889. January. February. March. April. 1 May. June. July. August. September. October. November. December. January. c2 g £ QJ PH March. April. >» ci g (Families in- 21 1 1 4 1 1 C 4 l 2 vaded. Attacks 44 1 4 4 1 — 1 4 i 1 — 13 10 1 l — — >) Deaths 13 1 1 — — — — 1 — — — 3 4 — l — “ 2 As o the age of those attacked, with only one exception the first sufferer in infi cted families above recorded was a child. Four of these first sufferers were aged from 1 to 2 ; seven from 3 to 5 ; six from 6 to 8; ancl three from 9 to 1 1.. I was not able to ascertain the origin of the first case ; as to sub¬ sequent ones, there were abundant opportunities for the spread of this disease