HEALTH IN DEREHAM
The Medical Officer of Health, H B Vincent, gave his report to the Local Board for 1881. He reported 163 births of which 13 were illegitimate, showing a decreasing birth rate since 1878. The death rate was 10.4 per 1000 (also a decrease since 1878). Twelve died from zymotic diseases after an epidemic of scarlet fever. At death, seven were aged between 85 and 95, twelve were 75 to 85, and sixteen were 65 to 75, and 27 were infants who had suffered from debility at birth.
Infectious diseases were discussed, scarlet fever being the most serious as there was now a vaccine for smallpox. The difficulty of washing bedding and clothes enabled the disease to spread. There was criticism of the School Boards for their inactivity in controlling infectious diseases, and of medical men who were reluctant to divulge names of sufferers in their private practices. It was hoped that compulsory identification of infectious diseases would soon be made law.
A footnote to this report was added by the editor of the Dereham and Fakenham Times, on 19th March, when he commented on the death rate for the previous year of 16.4 per 1000. “This will be found to be considerably below the average death rate of the country. Few towns in England can show so low a death rate. Taking the whole of Mitford and Launditch Rural District, the Urban District of East ‘Dereham keeps its position as one of the healthiest towns in the kingdom according to the death rate standard.
Infectious diseases were discussed, scarlet fever being the most serious as there was now a vaccine for smallpox. The difficulty of washing bedding and clothes enabled the disease to spread. There was criticism of the School Boards for their inactivity in controlling infectious diseases, and of medical men who were reluctant to divulge names of sufferers in their private practices. It was hoped that compulsory identification of infectious diseases would soon be made law.
A footnote to this report was added by the editor of the Dereham and Fakenham Times, on 19th March, when he commented on the death rate for the previous year of 16.4 per 1000. “This will be found to be considerably below the average death rate of the country. Few towns in England can show so low a death rate. Taking the whole of Mitford and Launditch Rural District, the Urban District of East ‘Dereham keeps its position as one of the healthiest towns in the kingdom according to the death rate standard.
The information in this section is taken from a document written by members of Dereham WEA and the University of Cambridge Board of Extra-Mural Studies led by Chris Barringer in 1989, and given to the Dereham Archive in 1998.
The original authors were: Joan Adams, Chris Barringer, Ben Norton, Teddy O' Donnell, Brian and Ruth Warwick-Smith, with help and additional material from Colin and Anne Chambers, Joy Lodey, Sharon Lake and Beryl Flatt.
The text was prepared for this website by Steffi Spooner.
The original authors were: Joan Adams, Chris Barringer, Ben Norton, Teddy O' Donnell, Brian and Ruth Warwick-Smith, with help and additional material from Colin and Anne Chambers, Joy Lodey, Sharon Lake and Beryl Flatt.
The text was prepared for this website by Steffi Spooner.
