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1
Public Offices,
Enfield.
24th July, 1941.
Annual Report of the Medical
Officer of Health, 1940.
To the Chairman and Members of the Urban District Council of
Enfield.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to place before you my Annual Report for the year 1940.
It is on lines similar to those of last year and considerably abridged
in order to save both time and paper.
It is with great pleasure that I can report that the health of
the district has been maintained at a level commensurate with that
of pre-war years. Reference to the statistics will show that only
28 cases of I3iphtheria were notified, the lowest figure we have been
able to record for many years. It is unfortunate that some of the
cases were severe and that five individuals lost their lives. Towards
the end of the year propaganda was directed towards informing
the public of the value of protection against this disease,
and the response in Enfield has been most satisfactory.
I would also draw attention to the decline in the number of
births from 1,756 to 1,607, and in the birth rate from 18.02 to 16.94;
this is to be expected in war time.
The infantile death rate at 42.53, though higher than that for
last year, is the second lowest to be recorded for at least 50 years.
Fears that shelter life, the blackout, and general conditions of
war would have a deleterious effect upon the health of the community
have not been realised either in Enfield or in the country
at large; Enfield is as healthy as it was before the war.
I would find it hard, if questioned, to account for this state of
affairs. I believe it is due in part to the municipal services, the
better education of the population in health matters during the
years that preceded the outbreak of War, and the determination