[Report 1895] / Medical Officer of Health, Bolton R.D.C.

  • Bolton (Greater Manchester, England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1895] / Medical Officer of Health, Bolton R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    have been used by patients suffering from very infectious diseases, such as small-pox (or typhus), they are burnt at the cost of the Sanitary Authority. Infected houses and rooms are fumigated by sulphurous acid gas, and carbolic powder is largely used around infected premises, foul middens, drains, &c., and the disinfectants are furnised free of cost. I will now proceed to make obversations on the 7 principal zymotic diseases, stating all that could be ascertained as to the outbreak and extension of these diseases, together with the advice given and the measures taken to prevent their spread. The first zymotic I will remark upon is SMALLPOX. During the year 87 cases of smallpox in Bootle were notified, and all (excepting 2) were removed as soon as possible to hospital, but besides these 35 cases from Bootle, there were 8 other cases removed to the Linacre Hospital from the out-townships, so that altogether there were 43 cases of smallpox treated at this hospital. Of these 43 cases I am g]ad to say only 2 deaths occurred, and these were of children over 5 years of age, one of whom was unvaccinated. With regard to the origin of the outbreak of this loath¬ some disease, I will repeat, to some extent, the report I made to the Health Committee on the 14th January. It was as follows :—“ I regret to have to report a very sudden and serious outbreak of smallpox in this Borough, no less than 15 cases having been notified and sent to hospital within 5 days, viz :—12 from Conway Street, 1 from Denbigh Street, and 2 from Audley Street. The first intimation that I had of the existence of the disease in this Borough, was, the notification of the case of a man at 29, Conway Street, from Dr. McPherson, in the evening of the 9th January. Later on the same evening, hearing of the probable existence of other cases in this house, I visited the other members of the family and found that all of them, viz., the man, his wife and 4 children, were suffering from smallpox. They were all removed to hospital on the same night. I then directed that Mr. Daly’s (Sanitary Inspector) staff, should make a house- to-house inspection in the neighbourhood, with the result that I had to notify -on the lOtli Jan. one fresh case in 25, Conway Street, on the lltli 2 fresh cases, 1 in Denbigh Street and the other at 31, Conway Street, on the 12th 5 more cases, viz., 1 at 25, 2 at 31, and 1 at 39, Conway Street respectively, and 1 in Audley Street. I had also to visit and notify on the 13th January another case in Audley Street. All these cases were removed as soon as