Mr. W. H. Power's report to the local government board on epidemic prevalence of diphtheria in North London.

  • Power, W. H.
Date:
1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mr. W. H. Power's report to the local government board on epidemic prevalence of diphtheria in North London. 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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    290 10 within the area hitherto dealt with, was retailed only by Mr. M; and though not connected with the great outburst herein of throat illness, was nevertheless associated, in regard of Mr. M’s customers, with a large amount of that throat illness in the district which preceded the great outburst among customers of retailers supplied with milk from the Kilburn business. A suspicion is thus raised whether Muswell Hill milk may not, like Kilburn milk, have been causative of throat illness, though operating in a different manner; and further whether it may not have been concerned in the inception and early maintenance of the disease in the district in question. Here it may be noted that although Mr. M’s business is as large and his customers as numerous as Mr. A’s or Mr. B’s, the amount of milk received by him from Mr. X’s Muswell Hill business has been small, nine barn gallons only daily. This milk has, from the situation of Mr. M’s business, been distributed quite as much in the outer ring as in the inner circle ; and the throat illness associated with this milk service has not been confined to any particular part of the district, but households invaded have been (seven in the inner circle and six in the outer ring) distributed over the whole area of his supply. The sus- picion thus raised derives support from the facts, so far as I have been able to ascertain them, with regard to other retailers obtaining milk from the Muswell Hill business. Fortis Green and neighbourhood, the area of distribution by Mr. N of 19 barn gallons of Muswell Hill milk.—Hereabouts a serious prevalence of diphtheria and throat illness excited in April last considerable attention and no little alarm. Locally the outbreak was attributed (as was the outbreak in Kilburn and St. John’s Wood) to sewer emanations; but the result of an inquiry by the Medical Officer of Health of the district did not support this theory. This gentleman found that the diphtheria had been pretty equally distributed over a district served by “ three perfectly distinct and unconnected lines of public sewers.” Subsequently, by personal inquiry in the district, conducted broadly on lines similar to those adopted in the Kilburn inquiry, I was able to satisfy myself that for the above and for other reasons sewers might here be excluded ; and that other ordinarily ascribed causes of diphtheria, such as water supply, personal communication of the healthy with the sick, and the like, might in the majority of instances also be set aside. But the circumstances in regard of milk service were at least suspicious. Milk, I found, had been distributed to the several hundred houses of the district mainly by two retailers residing near together; one, Mr. N, who obtained a considerable proportion of his total supply from Mr. X’s Muswell Hill business, the other, a tradesman whoso supply was altogether different. In the following table are recorded the principal facts of the outbreak. Table X. Throat Illness in Fortis Green and Neighbourhood. Invaded Households Periods. Localities invaded. House- Aggregate Cases. supplied with Milk by Remarks. holds invaded. Mr. N. Other Milkmen. f Tatterdown Lane 1 4 1 Week endingl Main Road, Fortis Green 2 4 2 — March 16 | Eastern Eoad, Fortis Green - 1 1 1 l Southern Eoad, Fortis Green 1 2 1 — Western Eoad, Fortis Green 1 2 1 . Week ending March 23 “ Southern Eoad, Fortis Green l 3 1 — Page’s Lane, Muswell Hill St. James’ Lane, Muswell Hill 1 2 2 *2 1 2 * Two brothers living next door to one another. The first at- Tatterdown Lane 1 2 1 — tacked worked for Mr. N. f Colney Hatch Lane 2 3 2 — • Week ending) St. James’ Lane 2 4 1 tl f Lived next door to youth em- March 30 1 Southwood Lane 1 2 1 ployed by Mr. N. l Belle Vue 1 1 1 — April to middle of \ month I Main Eoad, Fortis Green 2 4 2 _ St. James’ Lane Southern Eoad, Fortis Green 1 1 1 1 1 1 Southwood Eoad 1 3 — n April to end 1 of month and > May Southwood Road, Muswell Hill Tatterdown Lane 2 2 2 5 1 2 1 June St. James’ Lane 1 1 — 1 Totals 10 27 49 18 9 % Postscript, Feb. 1879.—I have since learned that this household, up to the date of its invasion by throat illness, obtained its milk supply through Mr. N. from the Muswell Hill farm. The figure 1 should therefore have been placed in the previous column,
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