Historical and statistical sketch of the progress of epidemic fever in Glasgow during the year 1847 / by R.S. Orr.

Date:
[1848]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Historical and statistical sketch of the progress of epidemic fever in Glasgow during the year 1847 / by R.S. Orr. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    matrons (of whom one died), had the disease, and of this number five died; the total number of servants, &c. employed in the fever department of the Infirmary being about forty-five. Of the Town’s Hospital officials, eleven, including inspectors of poor, &c., had fever, of whom five died. In the City Parish Fever Hospital, two medical officers had fever, and one died; thirty nurses and servants also were attacked, and of these six died,— there being altogether about sixty employed. In the Barony Pa- rish Fever Hospital one clerk had the disease and recovered, and thirteen nurses and servants, of whom one died. This establish- ment employs about thirty servants, &c. Two Inspectors of the Poor in the Barony Parish died of the disease ; but I have been unable to ascertain the number attacked. Four officials con- nected with the management of the poor in Govan Parish were attacked with fever, of whom one died, and three connected with the Gorbals Parish, and of these two died. No fewer, therefore, than 117 persons employed in the treatment and care of the sick have been ascertained to have been affected with the epidemic, and of this number 30 have died : so that, while the disease has cut off one in every seven among the poor afflicted by it, it has been fatal to one in every four of those in attendance upon the sick who were attacked, and nearly one-half of the medical officers attacked have died of it. The following table exhibits these results. Table showing the number of Medical Officers and Officials of the different Charities in Glasgow who suffered from Fever in the year 1847. Medical Officers Officials. Totals. o' ft Cured. Died. o' ft Cured. | Died. 6 ft Cured. | Died. 1 District Surgeons City Parish 1 Town’s Hospital ( Clyde St. Hospital 7 4 3 7 4 3 ... 11 6 5 11 6 5 2 1 i 30 24 6 32 25 7 „ „ . , 1 District Surgeons 3 3 2 2 5 5 Barony Parish J Fever Hospi“a] 1 1 13 12 1 1 14 13 1 Govan Parish 1 1 4 3 5 4 I Gorbals Parish ... 3 1 2 3 1 2 Infirmary Fever Wards 4 3 1 3G 31 D 40 54 6 Total, 18 10 8 99 77 22 117 87 30 I shall only in conclusion advert to two indications having re- ference to future outbreaks of disease, which seem to flow from the experience of the present epidemic; and which it appears very important should be attended to. The first of these regards the erection of district fever hospitals in, or rather near, the locali- ties of the city and suburbs where fever is most prevalent. The
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