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3
COUNTY BOROUGH OF CROYDON.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
AND
SCHOOL MEDICAL OFFICER
For the Year 1935.
To the Chairman and Members of the Public Health Committee.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present herewith my Eighth Annual
Report, being the thirty-sixth of the series, on the health of
Croydon. The general arrangement follows that of the last
report.
The contents have been compiled in compliance with Circular
1492 of the Ministry of Health, dated l8th October, 1935, and the
report is an ordinary, not a survey report.
vital statistics.
The Birth Rate (13.6) was slightly higher than for 1934, and
was 1.1 per 1,000 less than for the whole of England and Wales,
whilst the Death Rate (10.1) showed a decline compared with
1934 . It was 1.3 per 1,000 less than for the whole of England
and Wales, and was the lowest yet recorded for Croydon.
It is satisfactory to record a further diminution in the infant
mortality rate, the figure for 1935 being the lowest yet recorded.
This rate is usually taken as being the truest indication of the
general healthiness of a district, and Croydon has one of the
lowest infantile mortality rates among the large towns. In view
the town's changing character from being largely residential
to industrialisation, the continued reduction in the loss of infant
life is gratifying.
The common infectious diseases showed a considerable
decrease in incidence. The mortality also declined from 0.24 to 0.07
per 1,000 of the population.