Dr. W. Ogle's report to the local government board on the prevalence of scarlet fevre in the Pontypool registration sub-district, and on the general sanitary condition of that sub-district.

  • Ogle, W.
Date:
1881
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. W. Ogle's report to the local government board on the prevalence of scarlet fevre in the Pontypool registration sub-district, and on the general sanitary condition of that sub-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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    The general impression left on me after my inspection, which included, I believe, all the villages in the district, was more favourable than I had anticipated. It appeared to me that there had been very considerable efforts made some little time back to improve the sanitary condition of the district, especially in the matter of sewerage; that these efforts, however, had not embraced the whole district, some parts being left out in the cold; and that even in those parts where improvements had been begun, the effort had sub- sided before they had been fully carried out. And this I believe was really the truth. In the prosperous times, some few years back, much was done and more begun; but with the depression in trade came suspension of all works that involved outlay. Having given this general account of the district, I proceed to supplement it by a few remarks on its separate parts. Garndiffaeth, standing on the mountain to the right as you ascend the little lateral valley of the Ffrwd, is a populous place of some 3,000 inhabitants, with houses aggregated at one high point into a large village, but otherwise scattered in isolated groups over the mountain side. The houses are of the usual type as described above. Many of them are far from clean. This is doubtless due in part to the dirty habits of the occupiers, but also in part to the absence in a very considerable proportion of the cottages of the appliances by which alone cleanliness is made possible, namely, water and means for the avoidance of excremental pollution. As regards water, the whole place, with the exception of some 20 houses low enough down to be supplied by the Water Company, is dependent upon two springs, one of which—the Six Bells spring—supplies the scattered cottages down the mountain side; while the other—Ffynnon-y-Aver—is for the use of the main village. These springs at the time of my visit, after prolonged wet, gave abundance of water; but they are at a very great distance from a large part of the houses. In summer, moreover, as I was assured by many persons of whom I made careful inquiry, though they are not actually dry, they dwindle in such a degree that, considering how large is the population, what may be called a water famine ensues. As regards excremental pollution, there is a pipe sewer running down the main street and discharging into the Ffrwd. The only ventilation for this is an opening at its very top, where a small current of water passes into it and serves to flush it. Most of the houses in the main village are connected with this ; but not all. Of the cottages not in connexion, many have no .privies at all. I counted myself 29 such in a very small area. The filth from such cottages is of necessity cast out anywhere. In 1877 an outbreak of typhoid fever occurred in some of the cottages without privy, and was attributed by the medical man to the collection of filth thus formed at their doors. Single fatal cases of typhoid fever were also registered here in 1874 and 1876 ; and several deaths from diphtheria in 1875. I was told that there had been several cases of scarlet fever here in the late outbreak; but none of them terminated in death. Varteg stands still higher than the Garn, in a cold bleak position. It has no sewer; and of the cottages, about 140 in number, at least 100 are without any kind of privy accommodation whatever. Some of the rows consist of back-to-back houses, without therefore any through ventilation. Possibly at this elevation such a deficiency is less important than below. This place was equally fortunate with the Garn in the late outbreak. The water-supply is from two springs, which are said to give but a scanty supply in very dry summers. The evidence, however, on this point was very contradictory. Talywain consists of a main street running along the high ridge that separates Cwm Ffrwd from Cwm Sychnant, and of a number of smaller streets or irregular rows dropping down from the main street above upon the steep sloping side of Cwm Ffrwd. The village is supplied with water from the Gomer Castle source by the Water Company, of which an account has been given in that part of this report which relates to Pontypool. It was contemplated some years ago to sewer the whole place, but only one segment of the sewer was actually con- structed. This sewer serves the central third of the main street, and dis- charges, as do all sewers in the district, into the river. The other two parts of the main street, and the rest of the village are unsewered. Of the houses