[Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, Marlborough Borough.

  • Marlborough (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, Marlborough Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    BOROUGH OK MARLBOROUGH. ANNUAL REPORT OF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. Gbntlembh,—In accordance with the instructionH of the Local Government Board, 1 bcff to present my annual ro|>ort. The population at the last census was 3,012. I do not estimate the population as an increasinif one, as it will be seen that the birth rate is practically stationary, and the number of inhabited liousos also remains nearly stationary. Acreage, BMJ; number of persons per acie, 15'3; birth rate, 20'58 ; death rate, ; iiifant mortality, iy3'54; average death rate for six years to 1897, 14’6. Among the causes of death it will be seen that seven are from phthisis, viz., 16'6 per cent of the total deaths. The infant mortality is high, but in a small population this is a very variable quantity, having varied from 36»1 to 193‘M in the last seven years. Of the urban districts in the county six have a lower death rate and six a higher death rate than Marlborough. Water.—The water supply continues to be most satisfactory. After the late drought the height of the water in the well was never less than 14 feet. Quarterly bacteriological examinations have been made both from the well and from the water. After passing through the mains from the reservoir the first examination was both qualitative and quanti¬ tative and shewed that there were no deleterious organisms present and that the number of organisms had not increased after passing through the mains. All the reports showed that the water was excellent. Drainaoe.—The Local Government Board’s in¬ quiry with respect to Messrs Fairbank’s scheme of sewerage and sewage disposal was held on January 7th, and the report sanctioning the scheme with slight alterations at the outfall works was received on December 10th, 1898, and the work is now to be proceeded with as soon as possible. The sewerage scheme proposes to use those sewers which are now supposed to be efficient, adding others for the conduction of surface water, and to provide new sewers where the present ones are inefficient. The sewers are to be picked up by a sewer running parallel to the river. All the surface water possible will be allowed to pass into the old sewers. The sewage, after being is to be pumped by centrifugal pumps to the outfall works, which are to consist of septic tanks and biological filters, with the addition of land over which to pass the effluent if necessary. It is satisfactory to find that expert opinion is gradually more and more tending to a belief that the solution of the difficulty with respect to sewage disposal is to be found by calling to our aid the help of many different kinds of micro-organisms, in the first place for the solution of the solids in the septic tanks, and secondly for the conversion of putreecible organic matter into innocuous mineral substances in solution in the biological filters, or what have been aptly termed the natural bacteriological laboratories. House Drainage.—It would be a great gain during the carrying out of the drainage if definite regulations were drawm up for many details which are now left to the fancy of the occupier of the house or of the builder he employs. Take for instance the construction of water closets, which are sure to be¬ come more numerous with the increased facility for drainage. Obviously the size of the flushing tank where the public water supply is used becomes a public and not a private question, and the form of the closet used affects the amount of water which will be necessary for effectual flushing. There are a con¬ siderable number of w.c.’s, in the borough without anv flushing tank. Gullies in Herd-Street.—The street gullies in Herd-street which I have noticed in previous reports are now being replaced by new sanitary gullies. Cesspits.—There are still many cesspit privies existent and these in some of the smaller yards where several cottages abut on the same yard are often very offensive. It is to be hoped ihat the example of some of the owners will be followed and the present opportunity taken while the drainage works are in construction to substitute w.c.’s for these barbarous and filthy contrivances. , Cottages.—The demand for cottages m the borough is still greater than the supply, and I feel sure that much ill-health is caused by overcrowding in dark insanitary houses. It has only been found necessary to abate one case of overcrowding, but this hardly represents the real state of affairs, since several old, closely-packed houses without any back promises are filled to their utmost capacity. There 18 no doubt that one of the greatest boons to the town would be the erection of more well-bmlt ^°Bakehouses.—The bakehouses are all well kept *^^CowsHEDS —The cowsheds are genera’ly well kept. All have the water supplied from the main. Slaughter-Houses —It has from time to time been necessary to make complaints about every slaughtor-house in the borough, and on several occasions infringements of the bye-laws have been noticed There is but one which has uniformly been found in a really satisfactory state of cleanliness, but even then animals had been kept too long in the pens before slaughtering. The construction of some of the others renders it next to impossible that they should be thoroughly sanitary^ It would be well if a copy of the bye-laws relating to the slanghter-houses were hung in a conspicuous position in each. I have a very strong feeling in favoim of a public abattoir even in a town of the size of Marlborough, reflated by the sanitary authority, and according to the present state of our knowledge of the causes of disease there are many arguments m favour of this ‘‘inTeSious Diseases.—There have been fourteen oases of infectious disease during the year, six of scarlet fever, six of diphthena, and two of enteric fever The two latter were obviously imported. AU the scarlet fever cases were isoUted, and it is satis¬ factory that the disease did not spread. Isolation Hospital.—It h^ been decided to build a caretaker’s cottage on the premises of the iron isolation hospital, whi^ will do away with many of the objections to it Where there were other children in the infected families notifications have been sent to the school managers to exclude them from school for a definite period. Phthisis —I have already mentioned that there were seven deaths from phthisis. It cannot be too strengly emphasized that this is an infectious disease and rMuires many precautions of disinfection. Much has been said about the notification of this “soase, but from its alVSI difficult 1 nevertheless, it would be well that all deaths from phthisis should be immediately notified to toe authority and disinfection imdertaken as in other ?„feotio/s diseases. The diBinfection has been carried out by tbe Sanitary Inspector, and the bedding Ac., has been disinfected in the rural ® disinfector, under bm supervision. Compensation lias been paidin respect of stripping and Ume washing, etc., in one house. <• /. i i « a.^ Fish Condemned.—Two cases of fish belonging to ft salesman from Swindon were seized and condemned in the market on August 13tb, during ^be v^y hot weather.-(Signed) Thomas H. Haydon, M.OH..