London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Islington 1866

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington, Parish of St Mary]

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does pertinaciously to bedding, clothing, and articles of furniture. We
have no means of purifying these except by chemical agencies, which
are not always applicable, and we cannot (so far as I see) compensate
the owners for such things as I should otherwise feel disposed to burn,
And so, what with these faults in the Statute and the non-enforcement
of Vaccination throughout the country, the virus remains amongst our
population to do its work upon the unprotected.
I hope it is not premature to say that cholera, as an epidemic visitation,
is at an end with us for this year, although it is not improbable
that occasional cases may yet occur. Since my last Report the weekly
cases have gradually lessened, and the last two fresh cases happened on
the 26th and 27th of October; they were comparatively mild, were
sent early to the Hospital, and are recovering The weekly cases of
cholera, choleraic diarrhoea, and diarrhoea not distinguishable by any
special character from what is ordinarily met with, were as follows ;—

Week ending—

CASES.Oct. 6.Oct. 13.0ct.20.Oct.27.Total.
Cholera952218
Choleraic diarrhœa21205349
Diarrhœa,1331096348353

Altogether we have had, during this season, 107 cases of fullydeveloped
cholera, of which 65 have been fatal—and 228 cases of what
is termed "choleraic diarrhœa" that have come to my knowledge, of
which 9 proved fatal. I think I may truly say that not one of the
cases of cholera happened, in which appropriate steps were not taken
to destroy the specific virus cast off by the individuals attacked, and
to arrest the spread of the disease from the centre which each case was
liable to become during the period of epidemic prevalence. In many
of the cases of choleraic diarrhoea—in all that came early enough under
my notice—similar measures have been adopted. Feeling strongly the
extreme importance of these measures of "disinfection" (as it is
termed), I have not hesitated to direct them personally, and thus to
ensure a completeness that would not otherwise have been attained. I
have left nothing to be done or directed by my assistants but that which
I could not well do or direct myself. With the permission of the
Diseases Prevention Committee, the disinfection of the closets and
drains in the low neighbourhoods was continued, so long as there