Dr. Page's report to the Local Government Board on recent prevalences of scarlatina at Donington and Moulton, in the Spalding rural sanitary district, in relation to school attendance / [David Page].

  • Page, David, M.D.
Date:
[1883]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. Page's report to the Local Government Board on recent prevalences of scarlatina at Donington and Moulton, in the Spalding rural sanitary district, in relation to school attendance / [David Page]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    -rv~r- Dr. Page’s Report to the Local Government Board on recent prevalences of Scarlatina at Donington and Moulton, in the Spalding Rural Sanitary District, in relation to School attendance. George Buchanan, Medical Department, April 9, 1883. 1. The following report relates in the first instance to a recent and exceptional prevalence of scarlatina, accompanied by a considerable mortality, and involving protracted closure of the schools, in the parish of Donington, of which the Board had information from the Medical Officer of Health on the 6th of January 1883. 2. In accordance with the instructions of the Board to make inquiry into the circumstances of the outbreak, more especially in connexion with the question of the influence of schools on the spread of infectious diseases, I visited Spalding on January 18th, when I had an interview with Mr. Stiles, Medical Officer of Health for the Donington division of the district. From him I learnt that between 6th July last and the date of my visit, 79 cases of scarlatina, with 16 deaths, occurring in 38 families, had altogether come under his notice. Inasmuch, however, as his only means of information are quarterly returns of deaths from the registrars and the returns of pauper sickness, supplemented by the results of personal inquiry, Mr. Stiles expressed his belief that besides mild cases, for which no medical aid may have been sought, other well-marked cases had come under treatment, of which he had not had intimation. The more complete list afterwards furnished me by Dr. Jollye, of Donington, the only practitioner residing in the parish, confirmed this view, as it embraced 99 cases occurring in 50 households under his care. Next day I made my inspection of the localities concerned in the outbreak, accompanied by Mr. Stiles and the inspector of nuisances, Mr. Bollon. 3. The parish of Donington is the most northerly of the parishes of Spalding union, and comprises portion of the flat alluvial area of the Fenland. The soil is for the most part silt or sandy loam overlying clay, but in some places the latter is at the surface. A network of dykes intersects the district for the purposes of land drainage, two main channels, the South Forty Foot Cut and Hammond Beck, traversing it from south to north, and ultimately discharging their waters into the River Witham, near Boston. The population of the entire parish is about 1,665, and is wholly engaged in agriculture. The market town of Donington, with some 1,000 inhabitants, is situated nearly in the centre of the parish, and is 10 miles N.N.W. of Spalding. It consists of three principal streets, from which branch off one or two short cross streets and yards, converging upon the market place. Fairly compact, a few houses detached from the rest occupy the immediate outskirts ; also the aggregated blocks of buildings of Cowley’s Endowed Schools, to a description of which I shall presently return. 4. Regarding the sanitary arrangements of the town, the water supply is obtained partly from underground cisterns or other less perfect means of storing rain water caught on the roof, and partly from wells. The latter are shallow, exposed to contamination by surface soakage, which is known to penetrate for remarkable distances through the silt, and are not commonly resorted to for drinking purposes. The only two public pumps, one of which was sunk so recently as 18/ 6, are also from the same cause now polluted and unfit for use. In one locality a pit forms the source of supply to some five households. 5. There is no system of sewerage ; slops are got rid of either upon gardens when available, or into porous cesspools in the back yards. Formerly, I am R 5930. ] SO.—-5/83. Wt. 22526. E. & S. A