Outbreak of enteric fever at St. Peter's Home, Woking, in the summer of 1895 : report of the Medical Officer of Health / Woking Urban District Council.

  • Woking (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Outbreak of enteric fever at St. Peter's Home, Woking, in the summer of 1895 : report of the Medical Officer of Health / Woking Urban District Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Other foods. Patients on Milk Diet. Drainage and sewage dis¬ posal. Sanitary ar¬ rangements. New Block. late as July 7th, six weeks after the milk had undergone boiling. the milk have received the poison on the premises at St. i * Home> for it is kept in one of two larders always scrupulously clean, far removed from any drains, and absolutely out of danger of sewage contamination. & w ?' °nE!, Foods.—(0) Meat. All the meat is obtained from Wenham Brothers, Butchers, Woking. These caterers are large purveyors of meat in the district, and have always enjoyed the leputation of only supplying the best meat. The meat at the Home was cooked under the supervision of one of' the Sisters, who was herself a skilled cook. Xo uncured pork is ever used in the institution. (6) Oysters These were out of season, and had not been con¬ sumed by any of the inmates. (c) No Watercress had been eaten at the Home. (d) As to other Vegetables. The supply was entirely obtained lorn the garden attached to the Home. In dry weather this garden is watered by a supply drawn from large rain-water tanks, and derived from the extensive roofs of the building. The tanks do not m aiH_^ay communicate with the sewage disposal system. With regard to the water and other food supplies, it is a most important fact that,, though they were derived from the same sources roughout the epidemic, and have since remained unchanged no Iresh case arose after the drainage system was cut off on June 22nd with the exception of those who were already incubating and Nurse h. H., who undoubtedly contracted the disease through her own carelessness, as described on page 7. Another important fact was that none of the inmates who were on a milk diet (and there were several patients on milk diet) contracted the disease ; whilst on the other hand, nine out of the total number of cases were m members of the staff, healthy young people and all on full diet, and into which milk did not enter except as an addition to tea or coffee. Hr A1 n age AND Sewage Htsposal System.—Dr. Howlin has on several occasions taken me over the system and furnished me with valuable suggestions. On two or three occasions we were accompanied by Dr. Edward Seaton, the Medical Officer of Health for the county I have also read the two independent reports of the Sanitary Engineers who have inspected the drainage system since the outbreak—namely, ( ' Ha^ry, of the Sanitary Protection Association, and ivir. John Hunter of Windsor. I have, in addition, met Mr. Parry on the Ar' T3Mr‘ J°hn HVnter made llis inspection on the 16th of June and Mr. I arry not until the 28th of June. In the meantime, some of the more serious defects detailed below were temporarily remedied. yhe ,New ®Iock> in which all except two of the enteric fever patients slept and worked, is three stories high. In this New Block there are six w.c.’s and five slop sink;. Five of the w.c.’s are super-
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