[Report 1906] / Medical Officer of Health, Guisborough Union Combined D.C.'s.

  • Guisborough Union Combined District Councils.
Date:
1906
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1906] / Medical Officer of Health, Guisborough Union Combined D.C.'s. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/24 (page 2)
    variation is house accommodation. In very few of the dwellings of the industrial classes is it possible to carry out such isolation as is requisite to check the spread of infection. A third factor influencing the variation in the attack rate is the extent to which the residents of a town are open to receive infection either by contact with infected persons outside the district or by contact with such persons coming into it. The very large number of persons living in Eedcar whose place of business is outside its area and the still larger number who visit it in the season renders this town specially susceptible to the contraction of infectious diseases. Compare such a place with a village some distance from a railway station and the variation in the attack rate from scarlet fever and other similar infectious diseases is easiiy appreciated. Puerperal Fever. No case of this fever was reported during the Year Disinfection. Efficient disinfection of rooms, clothing, etc. after the recovery of patients who have suffered from scarlet fever and diphtheria is very difficult and in some instances impossible. Under ordinary circumstances the transmission of the materies morbi from the patient’s bed- room to other rooms in the house is unavoidable. Disinfection of every room in a house would necessitate the family being transferred to another house whilst the work was carried out. In none of the districts is there any disinfecting apparatus. Some time ago I suggested to the County Education Authority that the routine of school cleansing should include disinfection of school rooms at least twice in the year. I understand that the Education Committee considered the matter but, so far as I am aware, took no definite action thereon. Diphtheria and Membranous Croup. The following Table shows the number of cases notified during each quarter of the year :— District. 1st Quarter. 2nd Quarter. 3rd Quarter. 4th Quarter. Number of Houses Infected. Guisborough Eural 3 5 3 3 10 Guisborough Urban 0 0 0 0 0 Loftus Urban 0 1 1 0 2 Eedcar Urban 8 13 21 5 36 Saltburn Urban 2 0 2 0 4 Skelton and Brotton 0 4 4 1 9 Of the 42 in the Eedcar district two only ended fatally whilst of the 29 in the other districts seven were fatal. This great disproportion in the case mortality I am not able to account for. During the 15 years which have elapsed since the adoption of the Notification Act the diphtheria attack rate per 1000 births registered in the several districts was as follows :— Guisborough rural 34. Guisborough urban 20. Loftus urban ... 12. Eedcar urban ... 27. Saltburn urban ... 26. Skelton & Brotton urban 38.