Mortality of Philadelphia for 1859 : report on meteorology and epidemics : read before the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, February 1, 1860 / by Wilson Jewell.

  • Jewell, Wilson, 1800-1867.
Date:
[1860]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mortality of Philadelphia for 1859 : report on meteorology and epidemics : read before the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, February 1, 1860 / by Wilson Jewell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    severe pressure of sanitary evils upon the health of their population, than his report develops. Providence, R. I., has of late been characterized as one of the best rcgn- lated cities in the country, in a sanitary point of view. My knowledge of the accurate manner in which the city registrar, Dr. Snow, perforata the duties of his office, especially in that department which relates to tin- hygienic defences of life, confirms this opinion. Nevertheless, in comparing the figures in the above table, I find that the death rate in our own city il as 1 in 12 less than in Providence, and 4 deaths fewer in every 1,000 living; while the percentage of deaths to population is T2w8ff less. In each of the other cities named, in the above table, the dillerence is still greater in favour of the health of Philadelphia. The returns, therefore, of deaths for 1859, present a very high standard of salubrity for our city, equal to, if not surpassing, that of the most healthy city in the world. Nor should I be surprised, if the correctness of our returns made to the health office of the mortality of the city be questioned by sanitarians abroad. In order to meet this distrust, I have instituted a rigid scrutiny into the manner by which the weekly returns of deaths are made at the health office, and the sources from whence they are received, but a in unable to discover any defect.upon which I could build a reasonable doubt that they do not comprehend all the interments that are made during the year. The unusual health of our city during the year, has been the subject of frequent discussion among the fellows of this College, as well as by the papers of the day; and I feel assured that every practising physician is competent to furnish a commentary, illustrative of the fact that there has prevailed an unusual scarcity of cases of disease. No epidemic has visited us, nor have our usual endemics prevailed to any extent. In many instances the diseases of the different seasons have been less frequent and more mild in their character. During the fall and winter months and in the early spring, croup, and inflammation of the bronchia and lungs among children were the prevailing diseases. With croup, there was observed the steady increase in the num- ber of fatal cases which I have alluded to in several former reports. In in- flammation of the lungs, the deaths did not reach the number recorded for 1858. There was nothing, however, unusual in any of the winter diseased, beyond their general characteristics. Scarlet fever, which had prevailed to a great extent for several previous years, was still among us when the year opened. For the most part, the cases which occurred did not present a highly malignant type of fever, and yielded readily to a mild treatment. The deaths, however, were nearly equal to those of the previous year, and amounted to 232. I cannot omit to mention in this place the appearance of a few cases of diphtheria, or malignant or putrid sore throat. Towards the latter end of the year these cases increased in number; several of them were fatal, but