1896 Gloucester smallpox epidemic

The 1896 Gloucester smallpox epidemic affected more than 2,000 people in Gloucester between 5 January and 27 July 1896. A large number of the town's population were not vaccinated.[3]

1896 Gloucester smallpox epidemic
Henry Wicklin, age 6, afflicted with smallpox[1]
DiseaseSmallpox
LocationGloucester, UK
Confirmed casesOver 2,000[2]
Gloucester smallpox epidemic, 1896 Wellcome V0031469

On 13 August 1896, the Royal Commission on Vaccination's report on the epidemic was published by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Background

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In Britain, smallpox vaccination became compulsory in the 1850s.[4] In Gloucester, a smallpox outbreak occurred in the mid-1870s.[5][6] However, the 1890s also saw anti-vaccination beliefs.[7][8]

Cases

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President of the Local Government Board Thomas Russell stated in 1896 that, between 4 January and 25 July 1896, the number of cases of smallpox in Gloucester totalled 2,008.[2] A large number of the town's population were not vaccinated.[9]

Ethel Cromwell

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Ethel Cromwell was around 14 years old when her photograph was taken in a hospital in Gloucester, following admission with smallpox. She was not vaccinated, but recovered.[4]

Response

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An isolation hospital, the Stroud Road hospital was built in response.[10]

One reaction was that it led to prejudice against Gloucesterians.[11]

On 13 August 1896, the Royal College of Surgeons of England published a report by the Royal Commission on Vaccination, whose members included Lord Herschell and Sir James Paget.[7]

A subsequent outbreak of smallpox occurred in 1923.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Gloucester smallpox epidemic, 1896: Henry Wicklin, aged 6 years, as a smallpox patient. Photograph by H.C.F., 1896". Wellcome Collection. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Smallpox Epidemic (Gloucester) (Hansard, 13 August 1896)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. ^ Lillywhite, Maisie (28 February 2021). "Epidemic that gripped Victorian Gloucester 125 years before Covid". GloucestershireLive. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d "The child whose town rejected vaccines". Wellcome Collection. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  5. ^ Rolleston, J. D. (December 1933). "The Smallpox Pandemic of 1870-1874". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 27 (2): 177–192. doi:10.1177/003591573302700245. ISSN 0035-9157. PMC 2204618. PMID 19989604.
  6. ^ Richardson, Harriet. "Architecture of Isolation". Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b Kotar, S. L.; Gessler, J. E. (2013). Smallpox: A History. McFarland. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-7864-9327-2.
  8. ^ Durbach, Nadja (2005). Bodily Matters: The Anti-Vaccination Movement in England, 1853–1907. Duke University Press. p. 177. ISBN 0-8223-3423-2.
  9. ^ "The Gloucester Small-pox Epidemic". British Medical Journal. 1 (1941): 703–704. 12 March 1898. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.1941.703. ISSN 0007-1447. PMC 2410935. PMID 20757701.
  10. ^ a b "Gloucester: Hospitals". British History Online. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  11. ^ Williams, Dick. "April 2020: Rugby is disrupted at Kingsholm". Gloucester Rugby Heritage. Retrieved 3 May 2020.

Further reading

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