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4
The vital statistics of the district show a satisfactory situation.
The Birth Rate is up, the Death Rate is down, and the Infant
Mortality Rate has reached its lowest ever figure of 10.26, the
previous lowest being 17.4 in 1954. Most of the deaths took place
in the first week of life and special investigation into, and consideration
of, perinatal deaths is now receiving National attention.
Deaths from cancer of the lungs and bronchus numbered 52
(3 less than last year) and deaths from Respiratory Tuberculosis
numbered 8 (2 less than last year). Whatever one's smoking habits
may be, I do not see how one can fail to accept the Medical Research
Council's findings as establishing a causal relationship
between smoking and lung cancer, and to base advice and habits
on these findings.
The very low figure of 8 deaths from Tuberculosis, the lowest
figure ever recorded (it was 60 twenty years ago, and 50 in 1946)
is in contrast to the depressing figure of 52 for cancer of the lungs
and bronchus. It is also encouraging to note the reduction in new
notified cases of respiratory tuberculosis from 56 last year to 27
this year. I make special mention of this achievement in the case
of Tuberculosis as it is one hundred years since the birth of the late
Sir Robert Philip, the originator in Edinburgh in 1887 of the Tuberculosis
Dispensary method of treating the tuberculous family.
Many factors, including environmental, have contributed to the
encouraging progress made in the fight against tuberculosis and
efforts must not be relaxed if we wish to reach a completely successful
conclusion.
Unfortunately there were 18 cases of suicide, 10 deaths due
to accidents in the home and 5 fatal road accidents to Enfield
residents. As so many of the fatal home accidents are precipitated
by a fall, it is important that old people's residences should be so
planned and arranged as to reduce the risk to a minimum, and
appliances and fitments should be designed and installed with this
object in view.
With regard to infectious disease, there were 5 cases of poliomyelitis,
one of which proved fatal. None of the patients had
been immunised. There was a moderate increase in the number
of cases of scarlet fever and whooping cough, a considerable increase
in the number of cases of measles, and decreases in the number of
cases of food poisoning and dysentery. Excluding pneumonia, the
only deaths from notifiable infectious diseases were 1 from poliomyelitis
and 8 from tuberculosis.
As a result of cases of smallpox occurring in nearby districts