DIPHTHERIA and TYPHOID.
The obituary element of such a record as this inevitably leads the reader to feelings of sadness at the circumstances and the ensuing grief of loved ones at their losses. But what stands out among the extracts is the extremely high number of deaths of very young children. Page after page records the death of a two year old or a five year old, or a teenager, from the scourge of disease. Of course, there are adults brought down, but not, on the evidence of this Diary, in numbers nearly as great as among the young children. Thomas O’Shaughnessy’s own daughter, “….poor little Annie”, fell to the dreaded typhoid at the age of two. Consequently, in order to place all this in context, I have selected a few paragraphs from Cowra Free Press which give a little background to the epidemics and steps taken to cope with them.
Cowra Free Press 31 December 1886. “Typhoid fever continues to exercise its pernicious influence amongst the inhabitants of our town, fresh cases occurring almost daily. The Rev J Kimberley’s household appears to be singularly unfortunate as regards the outbreak. Firstly one of his children was reduced to death’s door by the dreaded fever, then the servant girl succumbed. Mrs Kimberley was the next victim, and now the sister of the servant girl (while tending the invalids) has contracted the disease. Thus four have been stricken down in one family. Mr Squire, an assistant of Mr T Watson’s, has also been laid prostrate. In fact, scarcely a family in the town has escaped the terrible scourge. Mr G E Stringer, we are pleased to notice, has reached the convalescent stage, but he is reduced to a mere shadow, and many months will elapse before he can regain his usual state of health and vigour. We fear that instead of mending, matters will become much worse with the heat of summer. Up to the present the season has been comparatively mild, consequently we may assume that we have yet to encounter heat of far greater intensity.”
Cowra Free Press 4 March 1893. “Diphtheria is still raging in the town and district although the disease is gradually becoming less virulent in form. The number of fresh cases reported, however, is high, twelve occurring since Saturday last. With the exception of one or two serious cases, the majority are making a favourable recovery, including five which are now under treatment in the Hospital. The second son of Mr Lyons, Public Schoolteacher at Mt McDonald, died at the Presbytery on Monday morning from the after effects of the disease, including a severe form of blood poisoning. The burial took place in the afternoon. Much sympathy is felt for Mr and Mrs Lyons in their sore affliction. The friends of Mr and Mrs Soden will be sorry to hear death has carried away another of Mr B Soden’s children – Leslie, who was about five years old. The death took place at George’s Plains, whither the family had gone after the death of the first child. The disease has been contracted by several other members of the family. There are some ten cases under treatment in the town. The culpably thoughtless and selfish manner in which people affected with the disease, or carrying infection through contact with patients, mingle with townspeople in business and in other ways cannot be condemned in too strong terms, and when it must be known by them that they carry the elements which assail life with such deadly severity their actions cannot be regarded as other than criminal in the highest degree. Every day we hear of most flagrant cases of the kind referred to, and there seems to be no way, since unfortunately the law is silent on the matter, of making people recognise the duty they owe to their fellow creatures and the community generally.”
Cowra Free Press 1April 1893. “THE DIPHTHERIA EPIDEMIC. The report of Dr Ashburton Thompson, the Chief Government Medical Inspector, who visited Cowra on the 7th Instant, has been forwarded to the Board of Health. The main features of Dr Thompson’s report are as follows:- The water supply is mainly from the river by carts. There are also over and underground tanks, and about 12 wells. In addition, a pipe was run from a pump situated on the river bank, within but below the town, to the railway station, by a route which followed the main street. From the main a branch was run to elevated iron tanks by the side of the road, whence water is sold by the corporation at 6d for 100 gallons, and about 4,000 gallons a week are thus distributed. There is no sewerage. Drainage is almost wanting.
The first case of diphtheria was discovered on the 15th December. It appears that until 20th January Dr Bartlett alone had any cases of diphtheria, and to that date he had recorded ten households invaded; his experience, therefore, well covers the beginning of its prevalence as regards Cowra. Then Dr Smith, who was here until the end of January, had five households invaded between the 20th and the 31st; and the Acting Government Medical Officer who succeeded him on 1st February had recorded 12 invaded households in addition; and Dr Bartlett’s total houses invaded was 29. This total of 46 houses represents about 120 cases, of which 13 have died – a low fatality for this disease. None of the special causes of diphtheria seem to have been in operation on this occasion, and especially it is not possible that milk can have acted as the medium of infection. It must, therefore, be provisionally assumed that this disease, from the death record apparently endemic in this district, must have relighted owing to supervention of suitable terrestrial conditions; but it must not be forgotten, at the same time, that cases may have occurred in some neighbouring part, beyond what may properly be referred to as the district, and have been conveyed into the latter. He concludes by noting those things which may be done under existing powers, and which should forthwith be undertaken —
1: Pay the Inspector of Nuisances a reasonable wage – that is, at least one sufficient to support life without supplement from other sources – and take care that he enforces bylaws against filthy premises, and to regulate collection of nightsoil, without distinction of persons.
2: Forbid water carts to fill except at a safe place above the town, cease to distribute foul water from the street tanks, make an arrangement with the Railway Commissioners to remove their pump upstream to a safe place above the town, when that is done forbid all carting of water except from the tanks, cast about for a water scheme independent of the river altogether, look both to neighbouring ranges and to prospects from deep bores or even deep wells.
3: Reform the nightsoil service in general as described in the circular “Papers relating to the collection and disposal of nightsoil in unsewered districts”, recently forwarded to the corporation; let the corporation undertake this work by their own workmen, under5 the control of the Inspector of Nuisances; insist on the removal of all cess-pits; introduce double pans and a day service; let no householder bury on his own land; draw the area within the borough which can be thus scavenged, on a map, and insist that every house within it shall be served at least once a week.
4: Discourage the use of well water within the town boundary, and the use there of underground tanks; encourage overground iron tanks for water.
5: Peremptorily abolish the three pigstyes (be they clean or dirty) which remain within the town boundary; attend especially to cleanliness of back premises in the gutter south of the main street.
6: Form the gutter referred to, and carry it to a safe discharge into the river; attend better to channelling and grading of streets, and make sure that escape of surface waters is made free and easy; examine the locality in general for low-lying and wet areas of soil, and drain them by trenching and putting in a few agricultural drain tiles to discharge at the surface in the most convenient situation to be found at no great distance.
In another connection it appears desirable that the Dairies Supervision Act should be extended to this district; that the attention of the Under Secretary for Public Instruction should be drawn to the desirability of abolishing cess-pits at the Public School, and substituting pans for them; of closing the underground tank; of furnishing additional iron tanks for use of scholars; of reserving the well for judicious use by themaster, and by children only in time of prolonged drought (but both subject to the analysis of the water now and from time to time; and to the necessity of not opening the school until fresh cases of illness are officially announced to have ceased.