'Dickensian diseases': gout, whooping cough and scarlet fever on rise

[Judi Lynn]

UK hospital visits for illnesses common in Victorian era up by 3,000 a year since 2010

Sarah Marsh
@sloumarsh
Fri 1 Feb 2019 19.01 EST Last modified on Fri 1 Feb 2019 19.16 EST

There has been a sharp rise in hospital visits for diseases that were common during the Victorian era, such as scarlet fever, whooping cough and gout, research reveals.

Despite certain illnesses virtually being eradicated in the 1950s, hospital attendances for some “Victorian diseases” have risen by 52% since 2010-11, an increase of over 3,000 admissions a year.

The rise has been put down to sustained cuts to local authority public health budgets, which experts say have resulted in the services that protect against illness being scaled back.

. . .

“The government should accept its responsibility for failing the most vulnerable in our society and commit to investing properly in vital public health services,” she said.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/02/dickensian-diseases-gout-whooping-cough-and-scarlet-fever-on-rise

[smirkymonkey]

1. K&R

This is only going to get worse as long as republicans are in control. I honestly believe that one of their missions is to cull the herd and what better way to do that than to make cuts to health budgets.

[Igel]

2. Gout doesn't really belong there.

It's from eating too much food rich in purines or which metabolize to form purines, which in turn metabolize to form uric acid. Uric acid crystals build up in joints, and you got gout. It's a disease of what would have been considered a rich diet in Dickens' day, meat and beer and liquor, sugar. You can get that these days if you're poor, but it's still a dietary thing.

FIL had gout.

[Javaman]

3. Had a Great Grand Mother die of Scarlet Fever in the late 1800's.nt