Regulations for the prevention of cholera.

  • Great Britain. General Board of Health
Date:
[1848]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Regulations for the prevention of cholera. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/34 (page 6)
    so u and endemic diseases, the boards of guardians should carry into immediate effect all practical measures of external and internal cleansing of dwellings in the ill-conditioned districts. The chief predisposing causes of every epidemics and especi- ally of cholera, are damp moisture, filth, animal and vegetable matters in a state of decomposition, and, in general, whatever produces atmospheric impurity ; all of which have the effect of lowering the health and vigour of the system, and of increasing the susceptibility to disease, particularly among the young, the aged, and the feeble, The attacks of cholera are uniformly found to be most fre- quent and virulent in low lying districts, on the banks of rivers, in the neighbourhood of sewer mouths, and wherever there are large collections of refuse, particularly amidst human dwellings In a recent proclamation, issued for the protection of the population of the Russian empire, the important influence of these and similar causes has been recognized, and the practical recommendations founded thereon are u to keep the person and and the dwelling place clean ; to allow of no sinks close to the house ; to admit of no poultry or animals within the house, to keep every apartment as airy as possible by ventilation; and to prevent crowding wherever there are sick.” Householders of all classes should be warned, that their first means of safety lies in the removal of dung heaps and solid and liquid filth of every description from beneath or about their houses and premises. Though persons long familiarized to the presence of such refuse may not perceive its offensive- ness, nor believe in its noxious properties, yet all who desire to secure themselves from danger should labour for the entire re- moval of filth and the thorough cleansings of their premises ; which also the law will require of each person for the protec- tion of his neighbours as well as for his own safety, Next to the perfect cleansing of the premises, dryness ought to be carefully promoted, which will of course require the keeping up of sufficient fires, particularly in the damp and un- healthy districts, where this means should be resorted to for the sake of ventilation as well as of warmth and dryness. From information recently obtained from Russia, it appears