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Deaths of Infants under one year:
The infant mortality rate, at 23 per thousand live and stillbirtha, although
a little higher than in the past two years, was nevertheless comparable with that
of the country as a whole From the summary of the total infant deaths given on
page 11, it will be noted that of 107 deaths under the age of twelve months, no
less than 41, or 38 3 per cent. occiftred within twenty-four hours of birth, and a
total of 69, or 64.5 per cent took place within seven days of birth, 57 infant
deaths, or 53.3 per cent of the total were ascribed to the group of causes,
(congenital malformation, birth injury, atelectasis, etc.,) related directly to
maternal causes, and almost all occurred within the first four weeks of life, and
mostly much earlier The second largest single group of infant deaths, 19 in all,
was ascribed to pneumonia, and this was responsible for more infant deaths after
the age of one month than any other single cause.
Respiratory Tuberculosis
The continuous reduction in deaths due to respiratory tuberculosis over the
past years was interrupted temporarily one hopes, with a total, of 31 from this
cause as against 28 the previous year.
The increase in itself would give no cause for anxiety since it is relatively
small, but combined with some increase in the notification of new cases (commented
upon elsewhere) there is no reason for complacency yet with regard to tuberculosis
of the lungs in an area such as Islington.
Malignant growths of Lung and Bronchus
It is unfortunate that the steady increase which has been noted year by year
in deaths due to malignant disease of the lung and bronchus since the figures
were separately classified from 1950 onwards, has continued in 1958. The increase
in the total numbers over the previous year is very slight but nevertheless the
same tendency is there, and this is in accordance with the continued increase for
the country as a whole.