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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borough of Erith.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In view of the fact that Dr. C. G. K. Thompson, who
was your Medical Officer of Health during 1948, has left to
take up an appointment in the North of England it is my
duty and privilege to present the Annual Report for 1948.
The vital statistics of the Borough for the year under
review are of particular interest in that they point to certain
trends in the health of the people, some favourable and
others which are not so encouraging. The death rate of 9.9
per 1,000 of the population is lower than that for the whole
of England and Wales (10.8 per 1,000 population.) However,
while deaths from infectious diseases have declined
considerably, deaths from other causes, notably heart disease
and cancer, have shown a steady increase during the past
quarter of a century. This tendency is not confined to the
Borough of Erith and may be regarded as a reflection of a
trend which has been noted in the country as a whole. The
increase in cardio-vascular disease may well be related to the
stress and strain of modern life and is a reminder that progress
in the highly organised modern industrial state, while
conferring many benefits, has also a debit side in that the
anxiety and pace of present day existence place a strain on
the heart and blood vessels not usually associated with a more
pastoral existence. The tendency of cancer to increase may
also be associated with these phenomena but in the absence
of more exact knowledge as to the origins of this disease it
would be idle speculation to try to relate it to specific causative
factors.
The incidence of tuberculosis has, on the whole, tended
to fall in the Borough during the past 25 years but there is
some evidence that an increase can be expected unless greater
progress can be made in the hospitalisation of open cases and
the relief of overcrowding of tuberculous families which
results, in many cases, in the infection of young children. It
is pleasing to report that the Council have, during the year,
been alive to this danger and have accorded a number of such
cases a high priority for re-housing. During 1948, there was,
in fact, an increase in the number of cases notified
compared with 1947 the figures being 79 cases (74
respiratory and 5 non-respiratory) compared with 66 (58
respiratory and 8 non-respiratory). There were 36 deaths
(29 respiratory, 7 non-respiratory) compared with 28 (26
respiratory, 2 non-respiratory) in 1947. The use of mass
miniature radiography to supplement existing arrangements
for the early detection of this disease may account, to some
extent, for the increase in notifications.