[Report 1897] / Medical Officer of Health, Bootle County Borough.

  • Bootle (Lancashire, England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report 1897] / Medical Officer of Health, Bootle County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/56 (page 10)
    SMALL-POX. Fortunately there is very little to state with respect to this dreaded zymotic, as no case was notified during the year and no death from it occurred. I may state however that a special pavilion is always kept in reserve to receive any case of small-pox that might unexpectedly be notified, and this pavilion is not allowed to be used for any other infectious disease. Unfortunately on account of the vicinity of the docks, we are liable at any time to be called upon to isolate a case of small-pox, which disease has so long an incubation period, that a person might leave the United States (or elsewhere) to all appearance free from disease, and after returning to his home in Bootle, symptoms of small-pox might then be observed in him, and the disease be fully developed in a day or two afterwards. A very useful and often a very effectual precau- tion is taken in this port to prevent as far as possible such a contingency. If any vessel arriving in the port is found to have a case of small-pox on board. Dr. Hope, the Medical Officer of Health for the Port Sanitary Authority, always sends word to me the names and residences of any persons who have arrived by the same vessel, and have returned to their homes in Bootle. After this information, I perhaps need hardly say one of our Sanitary Inspectors regularly visits every day the residences of these persons, until the danger of a case occurring has passed away. I can testify that this invaluable precaution has at least in one instance (in 1890) prevented an outbreak of small-pox in this borough. MEASLES. This disease was epidemic in the last half of the year, when 12 deaths were registered from it, viz.: 4 in July, 1 in August, 3 in October, 2 in November, and 2 in December, and there was one death from it in February and 1 in March. There were thus 14 deaths from it during the year, and the School Board visitors reported a largo number of cases preventing the children from attending the Public Schools. The total number of deaths from it, however, was only half the number in 189G, but was 2 more than the deaths in Bootle persons from scarlatina. The number was 6’7 less than the average of the preceding 10 years, and the death-rate from it was 0'27, which was 0'28 less than the average death-rate of the 83 large towns. Although this disease is said to be highly infectious for 3 or 4 days before the rash appears, still the knowledge of the exislence of the disea.se in any particular