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BEx 8
29th June, 1943.
ANNUAL REPORT OP THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH FOR 1942.
The report is again restricted in accordance with the
Ministry of Health Circular 2773 of the 10th March, 1943.
A summary of vital statistics is appended, from which it
will be seen that the general health of the inhabitants of the
Borough has been maintained at a high standard.
The birth rate is the highest recorded cince 1923 and the
number of births the highest ever recorded in this area. Some
reasons for the high rate are - (a) the population of the Borough is
young, (b) the first children being bcrn as 9 result of the high
number of marriages in the first years of the war, (c) the decision
of parents to have children rather than wait an indefinite period
until after the war, (d) the better economic position of the working
population, (e) the large number of husbands in the Forces stationed
in this country, (f) the return to valuation of family life with
less outside attractions, (g) a decision to rear a child rather than
work in a factory. It is interesting to note in view of the present
day demand for maternity beds that there was a 50% increase of
births in institutions but only a 30% increase of births in private
houses.
The infantile mortality rate (32.6) is the lowest ever
recorded in this district and should be compared with the rate of
111 in 1915 when child welfare first began in Bexley and the rate
of 78 in 1917 the third year of the last war.
The death rate is the lowest of the war years, and is low when
it is realised that it is calculated upon the population which does
not include the healthiest and most virile men and women who are
now in the Forces. There are still many preventable deaths and
there is no cause for complacency.
Diphtheria was the cause of two deaths, both in non-immunised
children. Reference to the cycle of epidemics of this disease
would lead one to expect a high rise in the number of cases by 1942,
but this did not occur and I know of no other cause than that 63%
of the children of the Borough were immunised against diphtheria
by the end of 1942. If the remaining children were immunised
diphtheria as a cause of death could be excluded.
There were three deaths from whooping cough during the year
and, apart from cerebro-spinal fever and tuberculosis, whooping
cough is the biggest killer of the infectious diseases. Permission
was obtained during the year from the Ministry of Health to commence
an immunisation scheme against whooping cough. A vaccine has been
prepared which is given at the same time as the diphtheria
prophylactic mixed in the same syringe, thus necessitating no
additional injections. The scheme was commenced in July and was
offered to parents with children under the age of five. By the
end of the year 1,296 children had been given the two doses and of
these children 2 only developed whooping cough during the year
whilst 145 unprotected children of all ages contracted the disease.
The Borough had been very lightly affected by the countrywide
epidemic of cerebro-spinal fever prior to 1942, but during the
year the number of cases was comparable with those throughout the
rest of the country, and there were five deaths despite the big
reduction in the fatality of this disease since the use of the
sulphonamide drugs.