The Contagious Diseases Amendment Act 1879 also known by its full title ‘An Act to amend “The Contagious Diseases Act 1879″‘(Act no. 43 Vict. No. 5) provided for contagious diseases hospitals to be built. This had been omitted from the previous Contagious Diseases Act (Act no.42 Vict. No.5) passed earlier in 1879. ‘Contagious’ was a ‘polite’ word for sexually transmitted diseases, especially syphilis.