View report page

76
other cases, for under such circumstances the atmosphere is
liable to become much polluted with the impure exhalations
from the patients.
(12) That as smallpox is a disease which is accompanied with
great prostration, the severe cases ought not to be removed
long distances.
(13) That each district ought to be provided with a hospital or
hospitals for the proper isolation of all cases of infectious
diseases occurring within its area, which cases can not with
safety be treated at home.
(14) That there would be much less danger of the disease being
spread through a number (one to each district) of small
hospitals, under proper regulations and management, than
there is with the several large hospitals now in use in the
Metropolis.
Scarlet Fever.
During last year scarlet fever was more prevalent in London
than in the previous year. From this disease there were 3073
deaths registered in London last year against 2706 in the previous
year. In the Fulham district, however, there was a
decrease in the number of persons attacked. The number of
deaths registered last year was 37, against 92 in the year 1879.
Altogether last year there were 152 cases reported against 180
and 248 in the years 1879 and 1878 respectively. These numbers
only represent a proportion of the cases that actually take
place, as it is but in exceptional instances that any information
is obtained. Of the 152 cases reported last year, there were 85
in the parish of Hammersmith against 92 in the previous year,
and 67 in the parish of Fulham against 88 in the previous year.
Information of 37 cases was obtained in the death returns, which
was, in most instances, the first report of the case. Your Board
removed 20 cases to hospitals, 8 to the Metropolitan Asylum
Hospital at Deptford, and 12 to the Metropolitan Asylum
Hospital at Stockwell. The remaining 95 patients either refused
to allow removal or their cases were not reported till after their
recovery. In a large proportion of instances the isolation was
not sufficient to prevent the disease from spreading, but was not
sufficiently bad, having regard to the present state of the law, to
justify an application to the magistrate to enforce removal.
These cases ought not to be removed such long distances as to
Stockwell and Deptford, as the fatigue of a long journey must
exhaust a patient and so lessen his chance of recovery. Each
district ought to be provided with a hospital for the proper