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The series consists of files kept by Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Henry Esson Young, from 1924 to 1939. The files relate mostly to outbreaks of disease, including smallpox, infantile paralysis (poliomyelitis), plague, trachoma, tick paralysis, psittacosis, and leprosy. The files contain correspondence of the Provincial Health Officer with Medical Health Officers in B.C. and the U.S. Public Health Service about outbreaks of infectious disease, including the 1932 smallpox epidemic in Vancouver and recurring incidents of diphtheria at the Queen Alexandra Solarium. They also include reports relating to lab services.

The series consists of the records of the Provincial Health Officer from 1984-1988 and 1997-2010. These records are arranged into subseries for each Provincial Health Officer.

Subseries 1 is the records of H.M. Richards, Provincial Health Officer from approximately 1981 to 1993, though records only cover the dates 1984-1988. Richards had previously been the Assistant Deputy Minister, Preventative Services. Records may also be those of Ron de Burger the later, Assistant Deputy Minister, Preventative services and Robert Fisk, Acting Provincial Health Officer.

The majority of records relate to epidemiology, AIDS and tuberculosis. Records include correspondence, including letters from concerned members of the public and interest groups, draft and final copies of educational material and pamphlets, reference material, and reports.

Subseries 2 is the records of Dr. Perry Kendall, who served as the Provincial Health Officer from 1999-2018. The series consists largely of news releases, correspondence, annual reports, presentations, and notes dating from 1997 to 2010. The series includes records that address the health of the province’s aboriginal population, air quality, fall prevention for the elderly, infant mortality, teenage obesity and activity levels, teenagers’ sex education, and a provincial drug strategy. The series also consists of a VHS recording of Dr. Kendall at a December 15, 2004 press event, as well as a DVD and audio dubbing master for the short informative film “Step by Step : preventing falls among the elderly.”

The records in subseries 2 are arranged by project and were originally housed in file folders within expandable project folders. Files have been removed from the expandable folders due to over-stuffing, however, the first half of each file title reflects the title of the expandable file.