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Borough of Bermondsey.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of
Bermondsey.
Ladies and Gentlemen, —
I have the honour to submit my Twenty-sixth Annual Report
on the sanitary condition of the Borough of Bermondsey for the
year 1926. The death rate was 12.1, compared with 12.6 in
1925, and 13.6 in 1924, and it is the same figure as that for 1923,
which I pointed out as the lowest reported death rate in Bermondsey.
When one gets a low record of this kind, one always has
a little doubt whether the lowering is permanent, but, in this
case, one may consider that the period of probation is past, and
that the general death rate will either remain at the present
figure or go lower, unless we are visited by some very malignant
epidemic.
In infectious diseases generally, the attack rate has gone up
to 10.84 against 8.84 in 1925. This is practically wholly due to
diphtheria, which was prevalent in the autumn of 1926. There
is a movement among some Sanitary Authorities at the present
time, not only to find out children who are specially susceptible
to diphtheria, but also to provide immunity against attack for
those who are susceptible, and this is known as the "Schick"
test. I hope to make a report on this matter at an early date,
as this is the most fatal of our present infectious diseases, and
although the case mortality has been enormously reduced since
the introduction of anti-toxins, the general prevalence of the
disease seems to be on the increase.