Notes on the small-pox epidemic at Birkenhead in 1877 / by Francis Vacher.

  • Vacher, Francis.
Date:
[1877]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Notes on the small-pox epidemic at Birkenhead in 1877 / by Francis Vacher. 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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    In 1877, the district of Birkenhead, in common with many other districts, urban and rural, suffered from an epidemic of small-pox. The last local epidemic was between May, 1870, and October, 1871, the resulting deaths being then 23; since which but two deaths have been referred to the disease—one in August, 1874, and one in September, 1876. From time to time sporadic cases are introduced into the district, by ships putting into dock, or from Liverpool or other Lancashire towns ; but as prompt advice of such cases is nearly always- received, the isolation of the infected subjects, and the other repressive measures adopted, have again and again proved sufficient to prevent the spread of the disease. In 1876, the cases of small-pox imported into the town were unusually frequent, that is to say, from the beginning of the year up to November 26th there were eleven patients, eight of whom were re- ceived into hospital, and three (members of one family) treated at home. Not one of these patients was in anyway connected with the epidemic of 1877; those treated at home were well early in September, and by the end of November there were but two in hospital, the case admitted on the 26th and one convalescent. Now during the last week of the year 1876 no less than seven cases were notified to the authority; and as for upwards of four weeks before, no case had been reported or come to the knowledge of the sanitary or parish authority, and the only remaining cases of those pre- viously noticed were isolated in hospital, it seems certain that one or more of these seven originated the outbreak. Of the seven, two were reported on De- cember 25th, one on the 26th, one on the 27th, two on the 28th, and one on the 29th. The second, third and fourth cases reported, appear to have been removed to hospital almost as soon as recognized, while the fifth and sixth were transferred to the union hospital after the lapse of one day. The remaining two, the first and last reported, were deliberately concealed. 1 he first, which I shall call the Cleveland Street case, was not reported till it had been received into the union hos-
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