[Report 1905] / Medical Officer of Health, Peterborough City & Borough.

  • Peterborough (England). City & Borough Council.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1905] / Medical Officer of Health, Peterborough City & Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Measles and Whooping Cough, Three and four deaths respectively. Typhoid Fevep. Two notifications, one death. A very satis¬ factory record indeed, and one, too, that speaks volumes for the sanitary arrangements of the City, more especially as regards the present water supply and the drainage. A letter of enquiry regarding a case of Typhoid Fever, supposed to have been contracted in Peter¬ borough, was very fully investigated, with negative results. I was afterwards informed by the Medical Officer of Health of Islington that the disease was ultimately diagnosed as Typhus Fever, thus precluding the idea of any source of infection from Peterborough. Phthisis. 24 deaths. ’72 per 1,000. CanceP. 44 deaths. P32 per 1,000. Alcoholism. 14 deaths. Rather a large number of lives sacri¬ ficed to what may certainly be termed a preventible disease, and more than double the average annual return. Monthly Incidence of Infectious Diseases : — Month. Small Fox. Scarlet Fever. Diph¬ theria. Typhoid Fever. Puerperal Fever. Ery¬ sipelas. Totals. January 28 5 1 34 February 14 3 • • • 3 20 March 21 3 • • o 1 25 April ... 7 5 1 3 16 May ... 7 2 • • . 2 11 June ... 5 5 1 • • « 3 14 July ... 1 6 5 • . • 2 14 August 2 4 1 2 9 September 3 2 . • • 3 8 October 8 4 • • • 2 14 November 11 • • • 2 13 December 12 1 • • • 2 15 Totals 6 * 124 35 2 26 193 School Exclusion. Six Day Schools were closed during the year for periods not exceeding 14 days, viz., Cromwell Road, Gladstone Street, St. Mary’s, Bishop’s Road, and New England, for Measles ; Girls’ National, for Scarlet Fever. I am aware that there is consider¬ able diversity of opinion as to the utility of the closure of Schools, to arrest the spread of Infectious Disease, but my experience is decidedly in favour of such procedure ; it has always been attended with bene¬ ficial results. Besides which, an opportunity is afforded for thoroughly fumigating and cleansing the various class rooms and their contents.