Volume 1

Public health: a popular introduction to sanitary science : being a history of the prevalent and fatal diseases of the English population from the earliest times to the close of the war of the French revolution in 1815 / by William A. Guy.

  • Guy, William A. (William Augustus), 1810-1885.
Date:
1874
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Public health: a popular introduction to sanitary science : being a history of the prevalent and fatal diseases of the English population from the earliest times to the close of the war of the French revolution in 1815 / by William A. Guy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    in four out of the live towards the end of it; and this is true whether the Plague set in early in the year or later. J now turn to Mr. Marshall’s table for information as to the rise, progress, and fall of the five epidemics. In i593> the first cases (three in number) were registered for the week ending March 14, the maximum (983) was reached in 20 weeks, and in 20 more the number had fallen to 39. The Plague must have reached onward into the following year, but for that we have no returns. In 1603 the first return was for the same week, and for the same number of deaths 5 but the maximum was not attained till the end of 26 weeks; and at the end of the 40th week, there was a return of 74 deaths. In 1625, the first weekly return was of 1 death, in the week ending January 3 5 the maximum was not reached till the 32nd week ; and, after 18 weeks more, the return was nil. In 1636, the first return was for the week ending April 4; the maximum was attained after 25 weeks, and, after 12 weeks more, the return is nil. In 1665, the great and final epidemic, the first return is of 2 deaths for the week ending April 25, the maximum was attained after 21 weeks, and at the end of other 13 weeks, the deaths were still 281. So that we must look for a continuance of the Plague far into the next year— the year of the great fire. Let us now compare the figures for these five plague years, and see how many deaths occurred within the years in the winters or springs of which they severally set in. These figures are as follows:—1593, 11,503 ; 1603, 36,2695 1625, 35,417 j 1636, 10,400; 1665, 68,596. Hence it appears that the first and fourth outbreaks were the least severe; the second and third, of about equal, but more than threefold severity, and the fifth and last by far the most fatal. And the five epidemics hold