London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Greenwich 1962

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough]

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31
Diarrhoea and Zymotic Enteritis.—Compared with a nil
return for the current year and for the years, 1961, 1960 and 1959,
there was one for 1958, one for 1957 and a nil return for each
of the years 1956 and 1955.
Diphtheria.—Again it is gratifying to report that there were
no deaths from Diphtheria during the year under review and that
it is now 16 years since one was recorded.
Tuberculosis.—There were 6 deaths from this disease
during the year, giving a death rate of 0.07 compared with 7
deaths and a rate of 0.08 for 1961. The rate for the present year
compares favourably with the average tuberculosis death rate for
the previous ten years, viz., 0.13 and is a further acknowledgment,
if such were needed, of the effectiveness of modern therapeutic
methods.
Although in Greenwich the numbers are small and therefore
liable to wide fluctuation, they do reflect the national trend, for in
1962 the rate for England and Wales in respect of all forms of
tuberculosis was 0.07 comoared with a fieure of 0.09 for London.

Greenwich deaths from tuberculosis for the previous ten years are given, with their appropriate rates, in the following table:

YearNo. of DeathsRate
1952320.35
1953180.19
1954150.16
195580.08
1956130.14
195780.09
195870.07
1959140.15
196040.04
196170.08
10-year average130.13
196260.07

Tuberculosis of the Respiratory System was responsible for
5 of the deaths in this category, only one death being attributed
to the remaining forms of tuberculosis.
At 0.06, the Pulmonary Tuberculosis rate was 0.01 lower than
that returned for last year.
Cancer.—In Greenwich, cancer was responsible for a total of
206 deaths giving a rate of 2.44 per thousand population compared
with figures of 203 and 2.39 respectively for the previous year. It
accounted for 21% of all registered deaths, a percentage
five times that returned for 1901, viz. 4.2%, and indicates that
approximately one in every five deaths resulted from cancer of