Why vaccine phobia is being blamed for deadly Victorian diseases’ return
A rise in illnesses such as mumps, whooping cough and scurvy is sparking alarm among medical experts
THE number of people hospitalised with potentially deadly ‘Victorian diseases’ has soared in Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire to a five-year high.
Experts say anti-vaccine sentiment could see some of these Dickensian illnesses ‘bounce back’ – with parents urged to look out for signs in children as cases continue to rise.
Exclusive figures from the NHS reveal patients in the area covering the city and wider were diagnosed with one of 13 Victorian diseases when admitted to hospital on 16,255 occasions in the year to March.
They include all people with these illnesses – which include gout, tuberculosis, malnutrition, whooping cough, measles, scurvy, typhoid, scarlet fever, diphtheria, mumps, rickets, cholera, and vitamin D deficiency – even if it wasn’t the primary reason for their admission.
The number was up 33 per cent from 12,217 hospital admissions in 2020/21, having dipped during the pandemic whereas it had previously been rising year-on-year.
It puts the number of inpatients diagnosed with these diseases at the highest level seen since at least 2017/18, when these figures began.
In particular, there were 8,978 cases of gout diagnosed in the year to March 2022 – up 26 per cent from 7,133 the year before – as well as 6,878 cases of vitamin D deficiency (up 45 per cent from 4,753).
There were also 282 cases of malnutrition diagnosed, 65 cases of tuberculosis, four cases of rickets, 37 cases of scarlet fever, one case of scurvy and three cases of typhoid fever. A further five cases of mumps, one case of measles and one case of diphtheria were also diagnosed.
Diseases such as these were the greatest cause of Victorian mortality – and while their impact and spread has since been contained thanks to developments such as clean water, wholesome food, education, antibiotics and vaccinations, they have never really gone away.
Speaking to the Telegraph this year, Stephen Baker, a professor of microbiology at the University of Cambridge, said it was ‘amazing that in 2021 people are still getting scurvy’ and that was mostly due to ‘really poor diet’.
Meanwhile, many of the diseases are preventable through vaccination, including measles, whooping cough, diphtheria and mumps.
Prof Baker said: “These are all completely vaccine preventable, particularly measles, which is super transmissible.
“Often you get these communities with a lot of anti-vaxxers, and they often get outbreaks of measles and mumps with people that refuse to have themselves or their kids immunised.”
Difficulty accessing routine NHS vaccinations or choosing to stay away from the health service throughout the pandemic may have also impacted these admissions - but Prof Baker warned that if a large proportion of children remain unvaccinated ‘post-covid’, there will likely be a peak in cases.
He added: “If we stop immunising our children, then we go back to the Victorian era. We look upon these things as a bit of a thing in the past because they are a thing in the past, not because we’ve got rid of them.
“It’s because we’ve controlled them through immunisation.
“If we take away vaccines they will bounce back.”
The UK Health Security Agency has also highlighted a postlockdown rise in Victorian diseases such as scarlet fever, as children continue to mix freely. A total of 3,488 cases of scarlet fever were identified between September and March – lower than pre-pandemic levels, but compared to just 1,791 cases reported in the entire year to March 2021.
Public health officials in the area have been working to reduce transmission, sharing information with schools and parents on the signs to look for. The three key symptoms of scarlet fever include a high temperature, a sore throat and swollen neck glands, and a bumpy, rough feeling rash that usually appears on the chest and tummy after 12 to 48 hours.
Other symptoms include a white coating on the tongue, which peels a few days after appearing, leaving the tongue red and swollen, known as ‘strawberry tongue’.
If your child is showing these signs, you should contact your GP or NHS 111.