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42
Measles.—During 1964 no deaths from measles were
recorded compared with none for the previous 3 years and one
for 1960. There were no deaths from this complaint during
the years 1959 and 1958.
It is difficult to believe that during the year 1901, 52 deaths
from measles were registered.
Scarlet Fever.—For the 18th year in succession there
were no deaths attributed to this cause. One was recorded in 1946.
none in 1945 and one in 1944.
Whooping Cough.—Similar to last year, no deaths were
credited to this cause during the current year compared with one
for 1962 and a nil return obtaining during each of the previous
8 years.
Two deaths were registered for 1953, none for 1952 and one
for each of the years 1951 and 1950.
Whooping Cough claimed 36 deaths during 1901, the first year
of Greenwich as a Metropolitan Borough.
Enteric Fever.—There were no deaths arising from this cause
during the year and none has been recorded since 1941. Only 2
deaths from Typhoid Fever have been registered during the last
25 years.
Diarrhoea and Zymotic Enteritis.—Compared with a nil
return for the current year and for the previous 5 years, there was
one death registered for 1958, one for 1957 and a nil return for each
of the years 1956 and 1955.
This disease used to be one of the deadliest of infantile complaints
and in 1901 it was responsible for 89 deaths.
Diphtheria.—Again it is gratifying to report that there were
no deaths from Diphtheria during the year under review and that
it is now 18 years since one was recorded.
In 1901, deaths from this cause totalled 21.
Tuberculosis.—There were only 4 deaths from this disease
during the year, giving a death rate of 0.05 compared with 10
deaths and a rate of 0.11 for 1963. The rate for the present year
compares favourably with the average of the past 10 years, viz
0.10, indicating the effectiveness of modern therapeutic methods,
despite recent anxiety concerning the production of a resistant
form of tubercle bacillus.
Although in Greenwich the numbers are small and therefore
liable to wide fluctuation generally they do reflect the national
trend. In 1964 the rate for England and Wales in respect of all
forms of tuberculosis was 0.05 compared with a figure of 0.06 for
London.