Page 211 - KBHA BULLETIN 6

occurred in the Cape Colony in 1882-1883. After that the medical authorities had the

disease more or less under control, both through vaccination and through improved public
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health measures. The great scourge of Europe in the 19 century was cholera, but the Cape
was fortunate to escape this terrible ailment, partly because of its short incubation period

and rapid onset.

Typhoid, a water-borne disease, was a crucial measure of urban public health. It was
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probably present at the Cape from the 17 century but doctors lacked the skill to
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distinguish between different fevers until the second half of the 19 century. Instead they
used such vague terms as "continuing fever"; they could not distinguish between typhus (a

louse-borne disease), and typhoid (polluted water). Typhoid (enteric, Salmonella typhi)
became a serious problem in the Peninsula surprisingly late - only in the 1890s in Cape

Town. The probable reason was that it was only after the discovery of gold that the

population put real pressure on the environment. Kalk Bay, with its small population was
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relatively unaffected in the 19 century. The early years of the 20 century, however, saw
increasing numbers with 10 victims in 1903, rising to 22 in 1904. Thereafter numbers
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dwindled to 7 in 1906, 3 in 1907 and only 1 in 1908.

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By the end of the 19 century the authorities were also beginning to realise how serious
tuberculosis was at the Cape. The Cape government led the way in introducing measures
against TB. Kalk Bay Municipality did not record many cases - 3 in 1904, 3 again in 1907,

rising to 7 in 1908. Even these scanty statistics suggest an increase in the incidence of the
disease, however. After Kalk Bay was incorporated into Cape Town Municipality in 1913,

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Kalk Bay Municipality, Medical Officer of Health reports, 1903-1908. These cases may not have
occurred in Kalk Bay itself. The MOH noted in his 1906 report that 5 of the 7 cases came from Retreat
and 'no doubt mainly owed their origin to the unsanitary condition of the cottages inhabited by the
coloured population about Retreat'.

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