HH62/1/CLACKM/9

Transcription

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amount of alarm in this town, but the fatality was very low indeed, as
will be found in the death statistics in the appendix of this report. The
Notification of Infectious Diseases Act has not been adopted in the
Burgh yet, and this was a great disadvantage, as it was difficult to hear
of cases as they occurred, and I had no exact idea how many cases
actually occurred. I sent notices to the medical men in town asking
them to kindly intimate any cases of scarlet fever in their practices, and
notices to schoolmasters not to allow children to attend school from in-
fected houses, until they produced medical certificates certifying that they
were free from infection. One school, where a number of children had
been infected, was fumigated with sulphur, and the wood-work washed
with strong carbolic soap. Printed directions for the isolation and dis-
infecting of cases affected were sent to all houses where scarlet fever
was known to be. I had a meeting with members of the School Board
regarding the propriety of closing the schools, but after deliberation we
considered not to do so, as there were indications that the outbreak was
disappearing, which proved to be correct, and in a short time no fresh
cases were reported. I would again advise the Burgh Commissioners of
the desirability of adopting the Notification of Infectious Diseases Act, as
by early intimation of cases it is alone possible to stamp out an epidemic
such as this at the commencement.

TYPHOID FEVER.

Only two cases of this disease have come to my knowledge, and
they exemplify the dangers which I have referred to from soil pipes and
rain water conductors discharging into the main sewers without any dis-
connection, as into the room where the cases were, sewage emanations
must have found entrance, the rain water pipe opening just below a
window, and not being trapped off from the sewer.
The total deaths from Zymotic diseases for the whole parish of Alloa
were 10, and for a population of 13,734 estimated to the middle of
1891, gives a zymotic death rate per 1000 per year of 1.4.
At the end of this report will be found the statistics of the Parish
of Alloa, separate from those of the whole County, as the population is
sufficiently large to give a basis for calculating free from the statistical
errors which occur when rates are calculated on too small a population.

BURGH OF ALVA.

The general sanitary state of the Burgh is very good indeed. The
water supply is by gravitation, and is supplied from a covered-in reser
voir and filtering tank at the base of the hill from where the water is
collected. The sewerage system is apparently well constructed, but
owing to the soil being mossy subsidence occurs occasionally. The
ventilation of the sewers is effected by manholes from the crown of the
sewer, opening on to the surface of the streets. These ventilators were
at one time supplied by charcoal trays, but have now been removed.

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Owing to the flatness of some of the gradients blockages occur in
the sewers, and some extra means of flushing should be adopted, such as
by Field's automatic flushing tanks. As the sewage must pass into the
Devon, there should be some means adopted to purify the sewage, such
as by irrigation or by some other practicable method.
The streets are wide and very well kept. There is a considerable
number of large uncovered ashpits, which should be entirely done away
with in a Burgh otherwise so well attended to as Alva, and the pail
system adopted, with the daily removal of the contents by the scavengers
of the Burgh Commissioners There is a considerable number of pig-
styes in the Burgh not kept so as to be free from offence, and as under
the General Police Act there is no difficulty in dealing with these, the
Commissioners should only sanction the continuance of those that are
scrupulously well attended to and free from offence.
The Bake-houses in the Burgh are very well kept indeed, and one is
really a model of its kind.
The question of a common Slaughter-house has been the subject of
several meetings with representatives of the Commissioners and myself,
as those at present in use are private ones, and at any time I have in-
spected were not in a very sanitary state. The most satisfactory ar-
rangement would be for the Commissioners to take advantage of their
powers, and provide a Slaughter-house which would enable much better
supervision to be made over the meat supply than in private Slaughter-
houses. If a common Slaughter-house is not provided, the Commis-
sioners would secure much better management in others by the adoption
of bye-laws such as are in force in the County.

HOSPITAL FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

The question of Hospital accommodation at present is under con-
sideration by representatives of the various Burghs and the County
Council, and I trust that this matter will be so arranged that the Burgh
will be able to secure means of isolation for any infectious cases which
may occur, proportionate to its population.
I would suggest that notwithstanding that there is no means yet for
isolating infectious cases, the Notification of Infectious Diseases Act
should be adopted in the Burgh, as by that means alone is it possible to
hear of infectious cases as they occur, and to adopt precautions in time
to prevent their spread.

MORTALITY STATISTICS.

The population of the Burgh is too small to calculate death rates on
free from grave sources of error, as what might be termed accidental
causes turn the results one way or another.
During the past six months there have only been 56 deaths in the
Burgh, and eleven of these were under 5 years of age, or 19 per cent. of
the total.
Two of these were due to influenza, one to a nervous disease, six to
respiratory diseases, and two to other causes.