London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Coulsdon and Purley 1941
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Coulsdon]
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The death rate from Suicide was 17 per 100,000 of
population, as compared with 11 last year, 14 in 1939 and
averages of 11 and 12 in the two decides 1915-24 and 1925-34.
MATERNAL MORTALITY.
The Maternal Mortality Rate was 1.68 per thousand total
births as compared with 2.23 for England and Wales. The local
rate has fallen this year though the national rate has slightly
increased the corresponding figures for 1940 being 4.66
locally and 2.16 nationally.
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
The Infantile Mortality Rate was 52 per thousand
registered births, compared with 37, 43 and 58 in the three
preceding years.
The Infantile Mortality Rate for England and Wales in
1941 was 59, in 1940, 55, while that of 50 in 1939 was the
lowest ever experienced nationally.
The neo-natal mortality rate (i.e., deaths in the first
month per thousand live births' was 36, which is 4 more than
last year and 7 more than in 1939.
Eight of the deaths in infants under 1 year were
associated with infections, (1 whooping cough, 5 from bronchopneumonic
conditions and 2 from gastro-enteritis) all of which
are regrettable as with more care they might have been
prevented, As the deaths from gastro-enteritis occurred in
November and De ember it is more likely that they were
associated with one of the waves of this complaint which appear
to occur in the early and late winter among persons of all ages
rather than from fly-borne infection.
INFECTIOUS D I S E A SE.
The table given below of the cumber of cases of infectious disease notified during the year 1941 gives at first glance a picture of what would appear to have been by far the worst year experienced by the District in this respect, especially when it is noted that on only one occasion has the number of cases of infectious disease previously exceeded 283, namely in 1917, when 540 cases w ere notified, 468 of these, however, being cases of measles.
| DISEASE. | NUMBER NOTIFIED. | REMOVED TO HOSPITAL | TOTAL-DEATHS. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diphtheria | 7 | 6 | - |
| Enteric | 12 | 4 | - |
| Dysentery | 224 | - | - |
| Scarlet Fever | 39 | 27 | - |
| Erysipelas | 27 | 1 | - |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 1 | 1 | |
| Pneumonia | 32 | - | 26 X |
| Acute Poliomyelitis | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Cerebro-spinal Meningitis | 6 | 5 | - |
| Measles | 214 | 3 | - |
| Whooping Cough | 136 | 7 | - |
| TOTAL. | 701 | 57 | 28 . . |
x Includes deaths from all forms of Pneumonia.
On analysis, however, it is found that in 1941 several
factor-; contributed to the large total, namely the very high
number of cases of dysentery, and the coinciding of waves of
measles and whooping cough, which diseases have only been
notifiable during the two war periods.