Skin diseases in a 19th century English workhouse: analysis of the admission book for the Wakefield Workhouse Infirmary, 1826-1857

Infectious diseases in the form of 'typhus' (74.2%) and 'fevers' (17.2%) were the commonest conditions accounting for entry to the Wakefield Workhouse Infirmary between 1826 and 1857, as recorded in the admissions book. Skin diseases were noted for 3.2% of admissions, principally scarlet fever (1.5%) and smallpox (0.8%). The mean age for primary dermatological admissions was 20 years (compared with 24 years for patients overall), with a mortality rate of 0.3%. The low number of smallpox cases may be the result of successful vaccination campaigns. The absence of admissions because of scabies (then known as 'the itch') might be as a result of exclusion of such patients from entry because of the known extreme infectivity of the condition. Workhouses played an important role in medical care in 19th century Britain but, in this example, skin diseases did not feature highly as causes of admission.