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
Battersea 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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12
Deaths of Illegitimate Infants.
The death rate amongst illegitimate children during 1951 was
42.73 per 1,000 illegitimate live births, as compared with 40.40 in
1950, 22.73 in 1949, 44.30 in 1948 and 45.98 in 1947. The corresponding
death rate of legitimate children in 1951 was 26.57, the ratio
of mortality rate of illegitimate infants to that of legitimate being
161 to 100. The corresponding figure for 1950 was 155 to 100.
ernal Mortality. During 1951 there were no deaths of women from pregnancy, childbirth, or abortion. Comparative Statistics of Births, Mortality, etc. (Compiled from Registrar-General's Returns.)
| Year | Population | Live Birth Rate | Death Rate | Maternal Death Rate | Infant Mortality Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 85,940 | 18.3 | 14.9 | 1.24 | 53.5 |
| 1943 | 89,160 | 18.3 | 15.8 | 0.0 | 53.9 |
| 1944 | 85,380 | 19.0 | 17.7 | 1.22 | 49.8 |
| 1945 | 90,420 | 17.6 | 13.8 | 1.23 | 40.8 |
| 1946 | 108,610 | 23.4 | 13.5 | 1.54 | 42.4 |
| 1947 | 114,960 | 23.2 | 12.6 | 0.73 | 31.5 |
| 1948 | 116,500 | 19.3 | 11.3 | 1.00 | 31.6 |
| 1949 | 117,510 | 17.2 | 12.1 | 0.97 | 25.2 |
| 1950 | 117,700 | 16.1 | 11.2 | 1.02 | 26.9 |
| 1951 | 117,000 | 16.1 | 12.4 | 0.00 | 27.6 |
Infectious Diseases.
There was an increase in the number of notifications received
during 1951, there being 3,476 during the year as compared with
1,037 in 1950. The increase was due mainly to an outbreak of
measles, notifications of which numbered 2,664, an increase of
2,433 on 1950, in which year only 231 cases were notified.
Six cases of polio-myelitis were notified, but in four of these
cases the diagnosis was not confirmed, leaving two confirmed
cases (one paralytic and one non-paralytic) both occurring in
children under 10 years of age.
There was only one case of diphtheria in the Borough during
1951.