On this page
-
Text (1)
-
372 INFANT MORTALITY.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
A # Intakttiie Death-Kates. De. W. T. Ga...
that disease , or by vaccination , or by both . It shows , further , that sources of infection mus _£ exist outside the living bodywhichlike
other epidemic poisons , are called into activity from time , to , time by causes yet unknown . To ascribe a periodic visitation of
smallpox to the neglect of vaccination , is one of those curious propositions which can only be made by those who look upon the
smallpox as a disease apart , and not governed by the same laws as govern other epidemics . It were just as rational to attribute the
late prevalence of ague to a neglect of quinine . But it does prove conclusively that whilst the non-vaccinated are sure to suffer
neither those who have had the smallpox itself , nor those who , have had the vicarious disease twiceare safe ; and that absolute
safety can only be got in time , by , systematic eradication of the poison in its lurking-places .
During the last century , skin diseases , accompanied with parasitic animals , have almost disappeared from England ; a hundred
years ago , the morbus pedicularis was common in hospitals ; ointments and lotions were prescribedfor itand I am informed on good
authority , that fifty years ago the eradication , of these insects from schools would have been considered a hopeless and irrational
refinement , the insects being considered a sign , of health rather than otherwise . Simple soap and water have put an end to them ;
and there is no doubt in my mind that similar means could get rid of these domestic pestilences which follow us like parasites .
To effect this , the young must be systematically and patiently , not casually and verbally , instructed in the duty and privilege of
cleanliness , and in all its details . The clergy might aid in the work hy showing' the literal application of many excellent precepts in the
Old Testament . At the same time that personal cleanliness is taughthouse
cleanliness requires to be enforced more vigorously . The , houses inhabited by the poor , let out in single or double rooms occupied day
and night , cannot be kept healthy unless every room be emptied , and the wallsfloorand ceiling cleansed once a year ; nor unless
, , the removal of refuse , and the chemical deodorization of sinks and closets be effected at least once a week . If the owners of houses
neglect this , the medical officers of health in London can do much to compel them .
In conclusion , I venture to say that a more cheap and speedy method of ejecting weekly lodgers is one of the wants of the day .
It would enable society to control some who now set it at defiance ; and it would be another instrument for that hunting down of filth
idleness , and ignorance which alone can in time eradicate the ,
domestic pestilences .
372 Infant Mortality.
372 INFANT MORTALITY .
-
-
Citation
-
English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Feb. 1, 1861, page 372, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01021861/page/12/
-