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REPORT
of the Medical Officer of Health
for the year 1959
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to present to you the Annual Report on the health of the
Borough for the year 1959. It contains statistical information about
the work of the Department but I refer in this introduction to one
or two matters of special interest.
There was a further increase in the total population of the Borough
during the year to 338,800, an increase of nearly 1,000 on the
previous year.
The crude birth rate was slightly increased over the previous
year at 15.7 per thousand and the adjusted birth rate at 15.07 per
thousand was also somewhat above the rate for the previous year
which was 14.68. The crude death rate was 14.83 per thousand,
rather less than the previous year while the adjusted death rate at
10.53 per thousand was also less than the previous year which was
10.75 per thousand.
One hundred and four infants aged under one year died compared
with 100 in 1958, giving an infant mortality rate for all infants
of 19.5 compared with 19.3 the previous year. This figure compares
with 22.3 for the administrative County of London and 22.2 for
England and Wales. There were three deaths from puerperal causes
during the year compared with five last year, giving a maternal
mortality rate of 0.55.
1959 was a "measles" year and as a result the total number of
infectious diseases notified showed a marked increase over 1958;
thus, 5,647 cases of infectious disease were notified of which 3,212
were cases of measles. 329 cases of scarlet fever were notified compared
with 300 in the previous year, practically all being comparatively
mild cases. Although 73 cases of poliomyelitis were
reported to us and investigated, the diagnosis was confirmed in only