[Report 1894] / Medical Officer of Health, Doncaster County Borough.
- Doncaster (England). County Borough Council.
- Date:
- 1894
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1894] / Medical Officer of Health, Doncaster County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
138/144 (page 88)
![only 22 per 1000, considerably under the average rate. Since 1881, the average was 27. 19 deaths were registered in the district—males, 9; females, 10. In addition, 3 old persons died at the Doncaster Work- house belonging to Tickhill. The total of 22 is equal to a death rate of 15-6 per 1000. The average of past 3^ears since 1881 was 17 per 1000. The only deaths in the zymotic class of diseases were 2 from whoo^iing cough in very young children There were 3 deaths from disease of the lungs, and one in the early part of the yeai; from influenza. Deaths from lung diseases have lessened by 1 per 1000 when we compare the previous 5 years (but omitting the year 1891, which was altogetlier an exceptional one on account of the epidemic of influenza) with the 5 years, 1880-1884. Among infants under one year the deaths equalled 12 per cent, of the registered births, which is the usual average. 50 per cent, of all the deaths occurred among persons aged 65 years and above that age. Cases 6 cases of infectious disease were reported in 1894, 4 were DSea?e^^notilied. c>f eiitei’ic fever and 2 of diphtheria. One of the latter occurred at a house where a case of the same disease was in- vestigated a few months before. It appeared to result from the the old infection rather than from insanitary surroundings. No clue was obtained regarding the other case, which occurred in another part of the town 3 months after. T1 le 4 cases of enteric fever were reported during one week, and all lived in one block of buildings. There were 2 suspected sources for the introduction of the infection. (Aie of these in another of 1113^ districts I made careful inquiries about, but with no ver}^ satisfactoiy result. However the infected matter got an entrance into the water suppH^, and 4 persons living in 3 houses, using that one well water, were attacked with fever. I reported at ^a^ur meeting in November the full particulars of the outbreak, how the well water was conclusive!}^ proved to have received a portion of sewage matter from a blocked drain used b}’ the family first ill. The Inspector, Mr. Hawson, acted promptl}’’ b}^ having the ])ump handle removed. At the urgent request of the Medical Attendant and with the consent of the Corporation, 2 of the cases were removed to the fever hospital at Doncaster. The cases were severe and were in the hospital 7 weeks. No doubt the expense was heav}, but on the other hand, when the condition of the family and the sanitary condition of the houses and their surroundings were considered there was a very great danger of the disease spreading from that source. The pre- vention of that risk and the speed}’ stamping out of the infection was certainly, in a large measure, due to the removal of the cases. The well was afterwards thoroughlv cleansed out and](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29162762_0138.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
