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ANNUAL REPORT
of the
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borough of Bexley.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report for the
year 1958 which is prepared on the lines suggested by the
Minister of Health.
The Registrar-General's estimate of the mid year population
for the Borough is 90,330 compared with 90,020 in 1957.
Generally speaking, on the basis of the statistical information
available, the health of the Borough was well maintained. The
standardised death rate was 11.66 per thousand of the home
population compared with 11.7 for the whole of England and
Wales. The birth rate at 13.6 per thousand remains considerably
lower than that for the country as a whole (16.4). Sixteen
infants died during the first year of life giving an infant
mortality rate of 13 per thousand live births, which is the
lowest rate recorded in the Borough since 1952, when the
rate was 11.34. The infant mortality rate for England and
Wales was 22.6 per thousand. As in previous years, the deaths
were mainly associated with prematurity and congenital malformation,
over which no significant degree of control is
possible at present. Much research is, however, going on in
regard to the possible influence of german measles and other
virus illnesses as they affect the growing foetus during the
early months of pregnancy. For the fifth year in succession
there were no maternal deaths due to childbirth.
Deaths from tuberculosis numbered 12 as against three in
1957. Deaths due to malignant disease, in general, showed
a slight decrease over the previous year and cancer of the
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