[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall-Norwood UDC 1894].

  • Southall-Norwood (London, England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall-Norwood UDC 1894]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    10/20 (page 10)
    Enteric or Typhoid Fever. No cases of this disease occurred amongst members of our population during the year; a very gratifying fact as the disease is held to be an indication of greater or less value of the sanitary conditions of a locality. Four cases were notified by the Medical Superintendent of the L.C. Asylum, as having occurred within the precincts of that Institution. These cases were investigated by Dr. Shirley Murphy, the Medical Officer of Health to the London County Council. Small Pox. Three cases of this disease were notified. All occurred at the end of May, in two houses on the North side of the Railway. From the history I obtained there can be no doubt that one of the patients contracted the disease from her husband, who was said to have been ill a little time previously, and had a similar eruption. On examining the husband I found he presented evidence of having recently suffered from small pox. It was also ascertained that a labourer, newly arrived in the district, had been lodging at their house, and that he had an eruption on his face when he arrived here. From the description given me of this case I fully believe it was modified small pox. Whilst making our enquiries, however, he suddenly left the district, so I was unable to verify my opinion as to the nature of his complaint, but I have no doubt that he was the means of bringing the infection into the District. A third case at the Crescent was due to direct contact with one of the previous cases before the nature of the illness was recognised. The houses in which the cases occurred were thoroughly fumigated, the bedding destroyed, and all persons who had come into immediate contact with the patient were re-vaccinated where necessary. The patients were removed to the Joint Isolation Hospital for treatment. Erysipelas. Of the 18 cases notified 15 occurred in the London County Asylum (Norwood). None of the cases call for any remarks, all being of a very mild type. Many Sanitary Authorities have excluded this Disease from the Schedule of Notifiable Diseases, as it very rarely assumes Epidemic proportions, and is only contagious under certain conditions,