View report page

36
remove those conditions which we know are favorable to
their production, in fact, stamp out, as far as we know the
cause, then, when disease makes its appearance, we shall be
in the best possible condition to receive it. And I look
forward to the time when the records of such disease will
no longer appear on our registers, but be a matter to talk
about as of the past, just as Small Pox has been in this
district for the past two years, not a single death having
been recorded, an immunity which to my knowledge
it has never before enjoyed, and in my opinion is the
result of the large amount of vaccination and revaccination
which took place in 1872. It is to be regretted that
the privileges offered to the public are not taken advantage
of when Small Pox is not present.
With respect to the epidemic of Scarlet Fever which
commenced in June and continued to the end of the year,
it is curious to observe the part of the district first visited,
namely, St. John's Hill and its neighbourhood, where the
best houses in the parish exist, the streets are wide and
well cleansed, there is no overcrowding, and the inhabitants
all of the better class. Whatever may have been the cause,
this supposed healthier and much higher portion of the
district suffered first and most. One medical gentleman,
in reply to an application, stated "during the last month,
July, I have on my books 116 patients who have suffered
or are suffering from Scarlet Fever; of this number only 6 are
below the railway; all the others, 110, in the neighbourhood
of St. John's Hill." Another gentleman also informed me to
the same effect, and I must here publicly thank them for the
readiness with which the information was given, for it at
once enabled your Officers to place the infected district
under strict observation. A house to house visitation
was made, and 168 cases were discovered in 500 houses,
containing 2572 persons, giving an average of 1 in every
15 who were, or had been, suffering from Scarlet Fever.
Special notices and printed regulations were drawn out by
myself and colleague and sent to every house in which the
Fever was known to be present, the streets were watered