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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Metropolitan Borough
of Lewis ham.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I submit herewith my report for the health department for the year
1952.
The Registrar General's estimate of the population in midyear 1952
at 227,100 was 100 less than his estimate for midyear 1951. The prewar
estimated total population in June 1939 was 231,000. The crude birth
rate for the year at 13.9 shows a considerable drop from the figure
of 15.3 for the previous year and the adjusted birth rate (allowing for
age and sex distribution of the population) is even less, at 13.1. The
crude death rate at 11.4 shows a small increase from the 11.2 of last
year and the adjusted death rate is 11.6, which compares with 12.6
for the administrative county. The infant mortality rate at 22 was
a drop of 3 from the previous year, the neonatal rate (i.e., under one
month of age) showing a fractional decrease to 16 and the one month
to one year rate a decrease from 8 to 6. The stillbirth rate again increased
slightly, from 16.1 to 17.7, and this is disappointing. The combined
stillbirth and infant death rate (reproductive wastage) remains almost
the same, being 40 as against 41. One maternal death is ascribed to the
year although this was a case where the interval between the maternal
condition and death was over 12 months ; the maternal mortality rate
per thousand live and stillbirths remains at 0.3. The premature birth
rate, i.e., the number of children weighing 5½1bs. or less at birth per
thousand livebirths is not so exact a figure, as a few babies who were
for one reason or other not weighed at birth have been regarded as
premature (this is probably true, but not necessarily so). Nevertheless
the rate for 1952 at 86 is high enough to be specially noted. The
various comparative figures of general statistics since 1901 are shown
on page 22 (table 11).
Tuberculosis
The number of new notifications increased very slightly from
299 to 307, the notification rate rising fractionally from 1.32 to 1.35.
The number of deaths from tuberculosis showed a marked reduction,
from 68 to 42. The fall in the death rate from tuberculosis in this
borough has been more or less paralleled by the remarkable fall in the
tuberculosis death rate which has taken place in many parts of the world
since 1939. According to figures published by the World Health
Organisation combined statistics from 21 countries (including this
country) with a total population of 404 millions show that the death rate
has been roughly halved in the past 15 years. The chief causes are
thought to be the energetic mass action directed towards the early
detection of the disease by radiography and its prevention by BCG
vaccination, and better hygiene more particularly in the control of
milk; improved conditions and methods of treatment have also
contributed. The decline in mortality has been greatest in children and
adolescents. The male mortality rate has always been higher than the
female and the difference between the two is becoming greater because,