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It will be seen that coal gas poisoning and falls account for
all but two of the deaths. The child who died of asphyxia on Boxing Day may
have suffocated or it may have been an artificially fed child and developed
an allergic reaction to cows milk sufficient to cause asphyxia or it may
have been asphyxiated by a virus infection. The old lady who was burned
almost certainly had no guard in front of her fire, but to what extent the
deaths from coal gas poisoning and falls were preventable it is difficult
to say.
There were three deaths from drowning, A boy of eight was
drowned in July and a boy of six in June, while a man of 66 bathed in the
Lea on the 30th of December. In the case of the elderly man possibly the
drowning followed cramp.
There were two deaths from electrocution, two from railway
accidents and three from falls outside.
Since two of the main roads into London and one of the main
roads round it run through Edmonton there continue to be quite a number of
fatal road accidents. In 1959 there were 10, 7 in males and 3 in females.
Only one of these deaths was in a child under the age of 15, which indicates
that the Road Safety Officer's campaign among the school children is having
considerable effect. Even in the age group 15 to 25, generally regarded as
an age of recklessness, there was only one death. In Edmonton it is the
more experienced members of the community who seem to suffer road accidents.
ANGINA
(Coronary Disease)
This disease takes a heavy toll, but the deaths have fallen
slightly. Table VII shows that some of the victims died surprisingly early,
4 being under the age of 45 and 10 under the age of 55. Angina accounts for
over an eighth of all the deaths in Edmonton and it is undoubtedly a widespread
disease in the town. Although those who are heavy for their height
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