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The standardised death rate for 1959 was 10.8 per
thousand of the home population compared with 11.6 for the
whole of England and Wales. In 1958 the comparable death
rate was 11.66 the practical point being that there were 64
fewer deaths during 1959 than in 1958. The standardised
birth rate was 14.7 per thousand estimated home population
compared with 16.5 per thousand for the country as a whole.
Seventeen infants died during the first year of life giving an
infant mortality rate of 13.1 per thousand live births compared
with a rate for England and Wales of 22.2 per thousand.
This low rate for Bexley reflects the relatively favourable
environmental and social conditions obtaining in the Borough.
It is worthy of note that 12 of the 17 infantile deaths
occurred during the first week of life and come within the
category of early neo-natal deaths and were due to prematurity,
congenital malformation, and atelectasis (collapse of
the lung).
In regard to the infectious disease, apart from the biennial
measles epidemic which began in 1958 (1246 cases) and
continued into 1959 (983 cases), we had much to be thankful
for. For the tenth year in succession no case of diphtheria
occurred in the Borough but it is, however, essential that the
public should be constantly reminded of the fact that
diphtheria has only been contained by immunisation—it has
not been abolished and its return as a killing disease is quite
likely should the level of immunisation be allowed to fall to
a sufficiently low level. The duty of parents is plain. They
should have their children immunised without fail at the age
of 8 to 9 months with booster doses at 5 years and 10 years.
It is estimated that, at present, about half the children under
the age of 15 years are at risk through non-immunisation
should the disease light up again in our midst.
In my report for 1958 I reported that there had only been
one case of poliomyelitis (non-paralytic) and expressed the
hope that the mass immunisation of children and young persons
might result in the gradual overcoming of this disease.
While over-optimism would be out of place, it is recorded with
satisfaction that no case of poliomyelitis occurred during
1959. As in the case of diphtheria, parents and young adults
must ensure that the younger section of the population is
kept at a high stage of vaccination against this disease. It
is authoritatively accepted that the effectiveness of the vaccines
now used exceeds 90% for those persons receiving
three or more doses of vaccine.
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