[Report 1904] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough.

  • Cheltenham (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1904] / Medical Officer of Health, Cheltenham Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    31/86 (page 31)
    to a severe outbreak such as has occurred at intervals of a few years before. Small-pox and Vaccination.—There was no case of small-pox last year. The Vaccination Officer informs me that the number of primary vaccinations performed was 552, the births being 961. This is a poor record. Other Zymotic Diseases.—The 3 deaths from Whoop- ing Couoli showed that the town was not badly affected with this disease in 1904. In comparison to many towns Cheltenham is little troubled with whooping-cough. There were 9 deaths attributed to Influenza, and there were many cases. This disease appears to remain prevalent in winter throughout the country, but to have become of milder type, and the attack of shorter duration, more nearly resembling the common catarrh. A considerable number of cases, how- ever, assume an abdominal type producing diarrhoea, colitis, etc. Phthisis.—The deaths from phthisis last year exceeded the number of notifications of the disease received under the system of voluntary notification. There being 31 deaths and 14 notifications. The people, however, have now grown to look upon this disease as infectious, and are agreeable to have their places cleansed and disinfected, at all events after death. The Isolation oe Infectious Diseases.—The Delancey Hospital for Infectious Diseases here last year took in 134 of our 143 cases of Scarlet Fever. General lv a few of what ty are known as return cases are expected to occur, that is, the conveyance back to the house from the hospital of the infection by the discharged scarlet fever case, and in con- sequence the return of a new case to the hospital from the same family. In every isolation hospital in the country such cases occur and cannot be entirely avoided. There is no means of knowing when a scarlet fever case is free of infection, a case is usually kept in the hospital until peeling is finished and no apparent sign of the disease remains, and is then discharged with a warning to the parents and guardians, that it is advisable for sone days to keep the returning child apart from other susceptible persons. Occasionally after a child is discharged it will develope a running discharge from ear or nose, and become a dangerous source of infection, as these discharges are the most intensely infectious material