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1
CANonbury 3388
Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
Islington, N. 1.
TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS
OF THE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OP ISLINGTON
The Annual Report for 1959, which I have the honour to present on the health of the
population of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington includes as is customary accounts
of progress made and advances in public health It also includes, unfortunately, information
which demonstrates that our control over infectious disease, for example, and other major
preventable causes of sickness and mortality is still far from complete.
Contrary to the experience after the first world war there has been no continued fall
in the birth-rate, following the post-war 'bulge' Over the past few years the Islington
birth-rate has continued to increase in line with or even slightly in advance of the
national tendency, so that the 1959 figure was the highest since 1947 It is difficult to
resist the conclusion that the increase in births is linked with the present period of
national prosperity just as the decrease in births of the nineteen- thirties was linked with
the depressions of that time
Deaths due to tuberculosis of the lungs were the lowest so far recorded but there are
still considerable numbers of new cases every year and respiratory tuberculosis is likely
to remain a major health social and economic problem for many years to come
Islington shares the regular national increase year by year of deaths due to malignant
growths of the lung and bronchus, and deaths due to this cause were the highest on record
so far. These deaths can very largely be prevented by the avoidance of smoking cigarettes,
but it is obvious that this is not a position which has so far been accepted by the general
public, or if it is known to some, then the implications are being ignored. It would also
appear to be obvious that the pro-cigarette smoking publicity through the mass advertising
media overshadows the more reticent publicity on ill-effects based upon evidence accepted
for some years by the Medical Research Council and the Ministry of Health, and which is
almost daily receiving international as well as national confirmation
In the field of infectious disease the principal feature in 1959 was a relatively short
but nevertheless sharp outbreak of poliomyelitis, which is recorded in detail in the infectious
diseases section of this Report The highest number of cases for ten years was recorded and
the exceptional feature of this occurrence was that these Islington cases together with a few
cases in neighbouring boroughs, did not form part of a widespread increase Such local outbreaks
of poliomyelitis are, of course, unfortunate, but have occurred from time to time. Although
the campaign of immunisation against poliomyelitis had not yet become fully comprehensive at
the time, nevertheless the distribution of the cases showed that those who had had even an
incomplete course of two inoculations were four to five times less likely to become sick with
poliomyelitis than those who had not been immunised at all against this infection.
Diphtheria was another infection during the year where there were rather more cases than
for some years previously Fortunately the illness was mild in all those affected, but there
is no guarantee that a severe attack of diphtheria might not occur under similar circumstances
and immunisation against diphtheria must therefore continue to be strongly advised as a
safeguard
Pollution
of the
Atmosphere
There was a short fog and 'smog' period early in 1959 There is an account in the Report
of the effect of such weather conditions, even though of short duration in increasing the
liability to bronchitis and pneumonia with all the risks that go with wuch infections,
particularly for the elderly