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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Borough of Dagenham.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present to you my Annual
Report on the health of the Borough for the year 1940.
The Ministry of Health Circular, No. 2814, of 26th
March, 1941, directs that the report shall be an interim
one but that all records and statistics, including those to
be supplied by the Registrar General, be carefully preserved
with a view to a more detailed report after the war.
One notable feature is the low incidence of the more
common infectious diseases; this is particularly significant
in the case of Diphtheria. When one considers the
conditions under which the majority of people passed
their nights in the latter part of the year, it is remarkable
that there was not an increase rather than a diminution
in this group of diseases. The reason for this has not up
till now been fully explained scientifically, although of
course, in the case of Diphtheria, immunisation has been
an important factor.
I would like to make special mention of the loyal
co-operation of my colleagues and the staff of the Public
Health Department during a very trying period. No case
arose when individual members, on being asked to undertake
duties which were outside their normal scope, hesitated
to carry them out with alacrity.