Mr. W. H. Power's report to the local government board on diphtheria at Hern Hill, in the Faversham rural sanitary district ; on the sanitary state of that district ; and on administration by the rural sanitary district.

  • Power, W. H.
Date:
1880
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mr. W. H. Power's report to the local government board on diphtheria at Hern Hill, in the Faversham rural sanitary district ; on the sanitary state of that district ; and on administration by the rural sanitary district. 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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    Mr. W. H. Power’s Report to the Local Government Board on Diphtheria at Hern Hill, in the Faversham Rural Sanitary District; on the Sanitary State of that District; and on administration by the Rural Sanitary Authority. George Buchanan, Medical Department, November 12, 1880. The diphtheria which was the occasion of this inquiry occurred during the autumn and winter 1878-79 in the parish of Hern Hill, where it especially affected Staple Street. In this hamlet which comprises some 30 dwellings, there occurred in the space of a few weeks about 15 cases of diphtheria with 3 deaths. Investigation of this Staple Street diphtheria by the Medical Officer of Health for that portion of the Faversham Rural Sanitary District, suggested that the use of water from certain wells in the place had brought about the disease. Accordingly analysis was made by order of the Sanitary Authority of a series of samples of the well waters with the result of showing that chemically speaking, all wells but one in Staple Street yielded water that was unsafe, or but doubtfully safe, for drinking purposes. Hereupon action, which mainly consisted in cleansing, repair, or deepening of the wells themselves, was taken for improvement of the water supply of the place, and further analysis of the waters was then ordered. This, when it had been made, showed but little im- provement in the quality of the water, and opinion gained ground that a source of well pollution existed in a deep stratum whence the water of these wells was believed to be derived. At this stage of affairs the Sanitary Autho- rity, which since an early period of the injury had apparently dispensed with medical advice on the subject, decided to defer further action, and for the time being to resign an expressed intention of compelling closure of certain of these Staple Street wells. The difficulty that had arisen having been represented to this Board, I was instructed in November 1879 to investigate the circumstances under which the diphtheria had occurred, and to include in my inquiry observation on the sanitary state and on the administration of the Rural District. Biphfheria and Throat Illness. Upon arriving in the district I found that before the invasion of Staple Street by diphtheria, throat illness had been generally prevalent among children in Hern Hill and neighbouring parishes ; and that fatal cases variously registered as “ acute laryngitis,” “ diphtheria and croup,” “ inflammation of the lungs ” (uncertified), and “ diphtheria” (also uncertified), had occurred respec- tively in Waterham, Sheldwich, Forstall, and South Street. Altogether the total outbreak of throat illness had extended over a considerable extent of country, and had persisted, with varying severity, during many months. In the parish of Hern Hill alone there occurred in the 12 months ending Julv 1879 above 70 cases of throat illness of greater or less severity, with 8 deaths. The above statements are based on information got together from various sources during a visit which I made to the place for the purpose of ascertaining- the cause or causes of the outbreak. In my visit I encountered difficulties of the sort which usually beset investigations respecting diphtheria, and in the end I was forced to abandon the inquiry. For this result the lapse of time (nearly two years) since the occurrences in question is mainly responsible ; people’s memories having in the interval become hazy respecting matters whereon exact information was necessary for due consideration of the subject. Except in regard of fatal cases, the dates of attack could rarely be fixed with any degree of accuracy, and thus no hope could be entertained of obtaining Q 2450. 100.—11/80. Wt. 6824. E. & S. A