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8
Accidental Deaths
During the year, 115 residents died from accidents of all kinds, including 24 motor vehicle
accidents.
Births
The total of live births registered during the year was 3,651 (1,864 males; 1,787 females), giving a
live birth rate of 13.89 per 1,000 of population, equivalent to a standardized rate of 10.69, the
comparable figure for Greater London being 17.7 and for England and Wales 17.7.
Illegitimate live births numbered 678 (341 males; 337 females), representing 18.57 per cent. of
the total live births, compared with 10.9 per cent for Greater London and 14.4 for Inner London.
Stillbirths totalled 55, representing a rate of 14.84 per 1,000 total births, compared with 14.2
for Greater London and 15.4 for England and Wales.
Infant Mortality
Deaths of infants under one year totalled 83 (55 legitimate; 28 illegitimate), giving a rate of
22.73 per 1,000 live births, the rate for England and Wales being 19.0 per 1,000 and for Greater
London 17.8.
Details showing causes of death according to age group and sex are given in Table 2, page 64.
Of the 83 infant deaths, 60 were under four weeks old, giving a neo-natal mortality rate of 16.43
per 1,000 live births. The neo-natal mortality rate for England and Wales was 12.9 and for Greater
London 12.4. The early neo-natal mortality rate (deaths under one week per 1,000 total live births)
was 14.52 (England and Wales 11.1; Greater London 11.0) and the peri-natal mortality rate
(stillbirths and deaths under one week combined per 1,000 total live and still births) was 29.14
(England and Wales 26.3; Greater London 25.1).
Maternal Mortality
One maternal death was reported during the year giving a death rate of 0.27 per 1,000 total live
and still births (England and Wales 0.26; Greater London 0.33). The cause of death is shown in
Table 3, page 64.
INFECTIOUS AND OTHER NOTIFIABLE DISEASES
The incidence of infectious disease in the City has in general remained low. Notifications received
(excluding tuberculosis) decreased from 1,186 in 1965 to 867 of which measles accounted for 454.
There was a significant increase in dysentery, however, with 104 cases against 44 in 1965, the
increase being due mainly to outbreaks that occured at four of the City Council's day nurseries.
Tables 4 and 5, pages 65 and 66, give details of notifications received and the age groups
concerned.
Acute Poliomyelitis,
One notification was received during the year relating to a 47 year old man, admitted to hospital
after being unwell with muscular pains for one week. The isolation of type III polio virus confirmed
the diagnosis of acute paralytic poliomyelitis. Fortunately the patient made a good recovery with
only slight residual muscular weakness.
Diphtheria and Smallpox
No cases of these diseases occurred in Westminster in 1966.
Dysentery
The majority of the 104 notifications were of single unconnected cases but during the year under
review outbreaks of Sonne Dysentery occurred at three of the City Council's day nurseries, and at
one of the Children's Department residential nurseries. At the St. Stephen's Day Nursery twenty-five
children and a member of the staff were affected, and a further nine sufferers from the disease
were discovered amongst family contacts of the children. In order to facilitate control of the
outbreak all admissions and re-admissions to the nursery were stopped temporarily. Minor
outbreaks also occurred at the Portman Day Nursery, involving four children and five contacts; at
the St. Jude's Day Nursery, where five children and two family contacts were affected; and at
the Abercorn Place Nursery where eight cases were reported amongst the children. These episodes
illustrate how difficult it is to prevent the spread of this mild disease, once the infection is
introduced into such closely knit communities.
Measles
The number of measles notifications dropped from 865 in 1965 to 454 during 1966 but there was
one death from this disease, that of a female child aged nineteen months.