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8
Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
Pancras Road, N.W. 1.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of St. Pancras.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I have the honour to present the 71st Annual Report on the vital statistics and
sanitary condition of the Borough, including particulars of the work carried out during the
the year by the staff of the Public Health Department.
This is the fourth Annual Report which it has been my duty to submit to the Members
of the Council.
The Minister of Health has intimated that the Annual Report for 1926 should be an
ordinary report, that is, a report of a more simple character than the full Survey Report, which
was required to be furnished for the preceding year.
A summary of the principal statistics for 1926 is given on page 10. It will be seen
that the general death-rate of the Borough was 12.4 per 1000 of population, being slightly
lower than the corresponding rate of the previous year.
There was a decrease in the number of deaths from Cancer, Tuberculosis, Pneumonia,
Bronchitis and Diphtheria, but deaths from Heart Disease, Measles, Nephritis, and from
Accidents were more numerous than in the preceding year.
The rate of Infantile Mortality, which is measured by the number deaths under 1 year
of age per 1000 registered births, was 76, as compared with a rate of 72 for the year 1925,
This increase was chiefly due to an epidemic of Measles, of a severe type, which occurred in
the early part of the year. This disease was responsible for the death of 25 infants under 1
year of age, which represents an Infantile Mortality rate of no less than 7 per 1000 from this
cause alone.
The birth-rate again shewed a decrease, the rate being only 16.7 per 1000 of population.
A lower birth-rate has never been recorded in the Borough.
Notifiable Infectious diseases were very much less prevalent than during the previous year,
with the exception of Measles. A rather severe epidemic of this disease occurred during the
first four months of the year, resulting in 65 deaths. With two exceptions these deaths were
all of children under 5 years of age.
The most urgent and important Public Health question in the Borough—Housing—still
remains in a very unsatisfactory condition and overcrowding is very prevalent.