[Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, St Albans Urban Sanitary District.

  • St. Albans (England). Urban Sanitary District.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, St Albans Urban Sanitary District. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    i he quite certain tliat lie liad been suffering from Scarlet Fever, tlioug’li I tliouglit it liiglily probable, I sent liiin home and gave directions that lie should be kept in the lionse for such period as I considered necessary. No further cases occurred. In November, the case of a young man residing in Alma Ivoad was notified. lie was taken to the Sisters’ Hospital. As he was engaged in business in London all day, the disease was probably (;ontracted out of St. Albans. On December dlst a very doubtful (VTse was notitied to me in Spicer Street. Of the 5 cases of Diphtheria which were notitied to me, 1 occurred in July, 1 in August, 2 in Octolier, and 1 in November. One was a case imported from London, and the others occairred in different ]^arts of the City, and were apparently unconnected. One of the cases was removed to the Sisters’ Hospital. There were 3 deaths. A certain number of cases of Inflnenza occurred at various times during the 3’ear, and one death is attributed to this cause in Febrnarv. A number of cases of Whooping Cough occurred in the latter half of the year, and one death occurred from this cause in September. We had an epidemic of Measles during the Spring and early Summer, which Was especially severe in St. Alban’s parish and the neighbouring part of St. Peter’s. It was introduced into the Workhouse, and a number of cases occurred there amongst the children. There was 1 death ill Febrnaiy in the Union Workhouse; 3 in April, 2 in St. Albans, and I in St. Peter’s; and 1 in June in St. Peter’s. One of these children was 5 years old, and the others were all under 2 years of age. I would again urge upon yon, as I have done in former years, the desirability of including Measles, if not AVhooping Cough, amongst the diseases which are to be notified under the “ Infections Diseases (Notification) Act.” Your Medical Officer, under these circumstances, would be informed of the earliest cases in an epidemic, and would be able to use appropriate means to prevent the disease from spreading. Once more I would urge upon yon the necessity of removing the Smallpox Hospital to some more suitable situation at a distance from any inhabited houses. Not only is it dangerously close to the Sisters’ Hospital, but tiie ground in the immediate neighbourhood is likely before long to be used for building purposes.