Cantor lectures on climate in its relation to health / by G.V. Poore.

  • George Vivian Poore
Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cantor lectures on climate in its relation to health / by G.V. Poore. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    a climate which induces us to live in over- crowded dwelling’s, and to neglect the import- ant considerations of cubic space and ventila- tion. i'he following facts, culled from the works of Dr. Parkes and Professor do Chaumont, are not without interest. The large death-rate in this country from diseases of the respiratory organs Professor do Chaumont believ^cs to be due to the breath- ing of impure air, a cause whicli affects all classes of the community—high, low, rich, or poor ; and he gives an interesting diagram of the death-rate from these diseases in the registration districts north of the Thames, which shows tolerably conclusively that the death-rate is proportionate to the crowding, and also to the population gathered round any particular spot. That is to say, that over- crowding under all circumstances is a cause of respirator}' disease, but that overcrowding in a large town is more harmful than in a compara- tively small one. During the years 1830-46, the mean mor- tality from phthisis in the army on home service amounted to 7’86 per 1,000 of strength, the highest mortality being among the Foot Guards, with whom it reached ti'35 per 1,000 of strength. This state of things attracted the attention of Sir Alexander Tulloch and Dr. Balfour, who pointed out that, in the Equitable Assurance Company at that time, the average mortality between the ages of 30 and 40, from all diseases of the lungs, amounted to 3^4 per 1,000. The army mor- tality from phthisis was, therefore, three times greater than necessary. The large mortality from phthisis among this picked class of the population, a class picked for its high physical qualities, and leading a life which at first sight would seem typically healthy, naturally roused inquiry as to the cause. That it was not due to climatic conditions seemed tolerably plain, for the mortality of our troops from the same cause appeared to be equally great at some foreign stations. Thus at Gibraltar 41 per cent, of the total deaths among the troops were caused by phthisis in the years 1837-46, while in the year 1875 only 23 per cent, of the deaths were due to this cause. At Malta we are told that in former years phthisis was the cause of 39 per cent, of the deaths, or nearly the same as at Gibraltar. Latterly there have been fewer deaths at Malta. In the island of Jamaica the deaths from phthisis in the years 1817-36 amounted to 7’5 per 1,000 of strength ; while in 1859-66 the mortality from tliis cause had fallen to I'42 per 1,000 of strength. In Trinidad, lung disease killed on an average ii’5 per 1,000 of strength between 1817 and 1836, while the mortality from this cause has now greatly diminished. Turning from the warm stations of the Mediterranean, and the warm equable climates of the West Indies, to the extremely severe climate of Canada, wo notice, in the first instance, that Canada is reckoned to be ex- ceptionally healthy; and further, we are told that— “The amount of phthisis has always been smaller than in home stations, and regiments of the Guards pi'oceeding from London to Canada have had on two occasions a marked diminution of phthisical disease. The comparatively small amount of phthisis is remarkable, as the troops have at times been very much crowded in barracks. They have now the home allowance of space (600 cubic feet).” In the twenty years 1817-36, the deaths from phthisis were 4-22 per 1,000 of strength, whereas in 1859-65, they were but 1-67 per 1,000. This improvement in Canada has been coincident with a similar improvement at home. The reporters call attention to the fact that these Canadian returns show how little the tendencyto phthisis isincreasedby e.xtremes or sudden changes of temperature. Phthisis in India, per 1,000 of Strength. Died. Invalided. Bengal— 1863-66 1707 .... 2-729 1867-70 1-752 .... 3-636 Bombay— 1863-66 1-526 .... 3-280 1867-70 1-238 .... 3-576 IMadras— 1863-66 1-458 .... 3-656 1867-70 1-336 .... 4-737 Army at Home.—1864-70. Died. Invalided. Household Cavalry,. 37*^3 •••• ^’^34 Cavalry of Line .... 1-416 .... 4‘°2S Foot Guards 2-300 .... 9'49i Infantry of Line .... 2-120 .... 5'5io How regularly the cause of phthisis must be acting in India is seen, says Parkes (“Practical Hygiene,’’ p. 683), in the fact that in the four years, 1863-66, 74 men died from phthisis iq the Bombay Presidency, and 73 in the Madras Presidency, the mean number of troops being in each case alihost precisely the same (12,119
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