Report by the medical officer of health for the city of Glasgow to the board of police. August 1, 1864.

  • Gairdner, W. T. (William Tennant), Sir, 1824-1907.
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report by the medical officer of health for the city of Glasgow to the board of police. August 1, 1864. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    / 10 first six months of the present year, 37 cases were reported from the Drygate, and of these only one was in the Rookery. It can hai’dly be doubted, I think, considering the extremely unfavourable chai-acter of this property, and the circumstances which led to the interference of the authorities, that this remai'kable immunity from disease, in the midst of an epidemic more severe than any since the year 1847, is entirely due to the care and personal attention with which the instructions of Mr. Garrick and myself have been followed out by the proprietor. In Binnie’s Court the immunity has not been so complete—six cases of fever, and one of small-pox, having been reported during the last six months; and two of fever, with two of small-pox, during the last quarter of 1863. But with all these deductions, and consideidng the state of epidemic disease in the City at lax-ge, I am enabled, by the testimony of Dr. Fergus, the Visiting Medical Officer of the Parish to say, that Binnie’s Court has been remarkably exempt from fever during the last nine months. At the same time, I am not satisfied that further improve- ments may not become necessary in this property. In both the cases above referred to the great urgency of the evils to be remedied, and the prompt and active co-opeiu-tion of the pro- jirietors with the authorities, have concxxrred to place them befoi’e the pxxblic eye in the light of a px-actical and gxxidixxg experiment ixx saxxitaxy refoi’ixx. In other places in which, from causes that need hardly be explained, it has been foixnd impossible, as yet, to secux'e the requisite dimuxxxtioxx of overcx’owding, and where the stiaxctxxral changes required will px’obably reqxxire much time and patience, the results of expex'ience have been widely different. Thxxs, in the Saltmarket, the xxxxxxxber of cases of fever reported during the fix’st half of 1864, was 106; while dxxriixg the whole year 1863 it had beexx oxxly 29. Ixx the High Stx’eet thex'e wex'e 76 cases i-epox’ted during six ixxonths of 1864; while dixx'ing the whole of 1863 thex'e wex'e 57 cases. Ixx the Gallowgate there were 46 cases during the first six months of 1864, axxd 30 dxxring the whole year 1863. In the Wynds there wex’e 33 cases in Januaxy to Juixe, 1864; axxd 34 cases during the whole year 1863. Ixx the Bridgegate there were 39 cases I’ecox’ded during six nxoxxths of 1864; and 49 dux'iixg twelve months of 1863. Axxd, speakixxg generally, it may be said, tliat wherever the epidemic came ixx coxxtact with dense ixxasses of population of the lower elasses, especially in the centx-al districts of the City, tlie first axxd second quarters of 1864 have beexx dis.