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CAMSI
PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT,
TOWN HALL,
CAMBERWELL, S.E.5.
September, 1957.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors,
of the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell.
Mr. MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS,
It gives me great pleasure to present my Annual Report
for the year 1956. This report has been prepared on similar
lines to that for the previous year, which was favourably received,
and will, I hope, be no less informative and interesting.
There were no exceptional occurrences during the year
affecting the health of the population which was, on the whole,
maintained satisfactorily. The vital statistics show little
variation. The Registrar-General's estimate of the population
of the Borough at mid-year was 177,800 which is 600 lower than
the previous year's estimate. Whilst there was an increase of
three points in the death rate (10.8), the birth rate rose by
seven points to 15.4.
The area comparability factors provided by the Registrar-
General for this Borough are 0.92 for births and 1.04 for deaths;
these factors have been used in computing the adjusted birth
and death rates for Camberwell for comparison with those for
London and England and Wales (see table on page 40).
There was only one maternal death and although the infantile
death rate increased from 21.3 in 1955 to 23.7 last year,
it should be remembered that the former figure was the lowest
ever recorded in this Borough. The Tuberculosis death rate
showed a further reduction from 0.16 to 0.13.
One confirmed case of diphtheria was notified during the
year-the first since 1950. The patient was an unimmunised
child aged 2½ years and was treated in hospital where it made a
good recovery. The organism proved to be avirulent and nose
and throat swabs taken from other members of the family were
negative.
Although catarrhal jaundice is not a notifiable infectious
disease, my attention was drawn to the occurrence of several
cases in the early part of the year by local general medical
practitioners. No serious complications were reported.