Mr. W. H. Power's report to the local government board on diphtheria at Hern Hill, in the Faversham rural sanitary district ; on the sanitary state of that district ; and on administration by the rural sanitary district.
- Power, W. H.
- Date:
- 1880
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Mr. W. H. Power's report to the local government board on diphtheria at Hern Hill, in the Faversham rural sanitary district ; on the sanitary state of that district ; and on administration by the rural sanitary district. 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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![5. A little later, a family of six children, named Parry, living in a cottage on a wooded bank, within a mile of the last-named cases and attending the same school (at Pontaberglaslyn) with the Williamses, were attacked with diphtheria. Idiey all recovered, but the eldest has since suffered from paralysis. An infant escajjed alto- gether, as also did the adults. The school was promptly closed, and no other cases occurred among the school-children. 6. A death from diphtheria occurred on December 12th at a roadside cottage near Tremadoc. This case appeared to be entirely unconnected with any of those above- mentioned. None of the family had been near to any placo that was known to be infected, nor had any person been to their house who was likely to bring infection. No clothes or bedding, or any such articles had recently been brought to the house. The only thing suspicious about the house itself is that it stands by the side of the high road from Glanaber and Beddgelert to Tremadoc. Tremadoc is the principal market town and railway station in this part of the country. 7. With the exception of this case near Tremadoc, the whole of the outbreak in the Tremadoc sub-district, as above described, appears to hang together in a not improbable chain of personal commiinication. Especial interest, I think, attaches to the infection-colony that settled at Gardd- llygaid-y-dydd, if, as the evidence appears to indicate, the infection was conveyed thither from Glanaber by the eldest girl Williams, who was not herself attacked. It may be supposed that the infection was carried in her clothing. 8. Altogether there were 34 attacks, of which eight ended fatally. Dr. Rees has since informed me of two more deaths at Glanaber in March 1880. This outbreak, like that before described in the Carnarvon rural sanitary district, had been carefully investigated by Dr. Hugh Rees, Medical Officer of Health for the Carnarvonshire combined sanitary district, to whom my thanks are due for valuable assistance. BUILTH. [Registrar-General’s Quarterly Return, 1879, Fourth quarter.—District, Builth; Sub- district, Builth. Population, 3,336. Five deaths occurred from diphtheria. (Registrar’s note, “ The five deaths from diphtheria occurred in the parish of Llandewyrcwm.”)] 1. The scene of this outbreak was the lower part of the valley of the Dihonw, a tributary of the Wye. The valley here forms an irregular basin, shut in by hills of considerable height to the S.B., S. and W., less confined towards the north, and opening to the N.E. into the larger valley. The hills are composed of shaly slate, and their flanks and bases are covered with a soil of shaly clay, derived apparently from the crumbling of the slaty rock. The valley is not thickly Avooded. Tilled fields and pasture occupy the bottom and sides, and pasture extends to the hill tops. The parish of Llandewyrcwm had, in 1871, 313 inhabitants. They are not gathered together in a village, but are scattered in small farms and separate cottages at all elevations on the hill sides. 2. Diphtheria first showed itself in an isolated cottage at the bottom of the valley, inhabited by a farm labourer named Jarman, his wife and five children, aged 14, 11, 9, 7, and 4. Those aged 11 and 9, both girls, were attending the parish school. Elizabeth (9) came home from school, ill, on October 23rd. In the school register she is marked as having attended school up to the 27th. She recovered. John (7) sickened on October 30th, and died November 1st. This death was so sudden that, no medical man having been in attendance, a coroner’s inquest was held. The nature of the disease was made evident by the rapid sequence of fresh attacks in the same family. David (4) was taken ill on November 2nd, and died November 9th ; and Ann (11) taken ill November 3rd, died November 16th. William (14) fell ill on November 8th, but subsequently recovered. 3. On November 10th the doctor was called to see a boy, George Whiting, ill with diphtheria, at a remote cottage, high up the hill. He had been attending the parish school up to October 29th, and was not known to ha^n had any other opportunity of intercourse with the Jarmans. George Whiting (7) recovered,but two younger children (five and three), who were not attending school, subsequently sickened and died, one on November 25, the other on December 11th. The two deaths in this family, and the Q 2350. C](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2499683x_0029.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
