The number of people hospitalised with potentially deadly Victorian diseases has soared in the North East and Cumbria to a five-year high.
Experts are warning that anti-vaccine sentiment could see some of these Dickensian illnesses "bounce back" - while parents have been urged to be on the lookout for signs in children as cases continue to rise. Exclusive figures from the NHS reveal that patients in our area were diagnosed with one of 13 Victorian diseases when admitted to hospital on 29,661 occasions in the year to March.
They include all people admitted 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.
