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

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

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

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]

  • Ethel Cromwell (with smallpox)
    Ethel Cromwell (with smallpox)[4]
  • Ethel Cromwell (convalescing)
    Ethel Cromwell (convalescing)[4]
  • Ephraim Beard with smallpox. Died on 13 April 1896
    Ephraim Beard with smallpox. Died on 13 April 1896

Response

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

References
  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. "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. "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. 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. "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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