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4
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borough of Erith
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report for the
year 1961 which has been prepared on the lines set out in
Circular 1/61 of the Ministry of Health.
The Registrar-General's estimate of the mid-year population
is 45,050 (45,780 in 1960).
The vital statistics supplied annually by the General
Register Office indicate that the general trend of the health
of the Borough remains satisfactory. The standardised death
rate was 13.48 per 1,000 of the home population (11.63 in
1960) compared with 12.0 per 1,000 for England and Wales.
The standardised birth rate was 15.62 per 1,000 home poulation
(15.73 in 1960) compared with a rate of 17.4 per 1,000
for the country as a whole. The number of infants who died
during the first year of life was 10 (14 in 1960) giving an
infant mortality rate of 14.35 per 1,000 live births (19.44 in
1960) compared with 21.6 per 1,000 for England and Wales.
For the third successive year there was no maternal
death associated with childbirth. Considering that during the
past three years there were 2,106 total births in the Borough
it may be said that the antenatal and obstetrical services in
the area have worked to a high standard of efficiency.
For the twelfth year in succession there has been no case
of diphtheria in the Borough. There is no evidence, however,
from the fatality rate of cases occurring in other parts of the
country that there has been any waning of the virulence of
this disease and despite the good record of the Borough,
immunisation against this disease remains a matter of great
importance. For the third year in succession no case of polimyelitis
occurred in the Borough. The availability of the
Sabin oral vaccine and the full co-operation of the public in
accepting vaccination for all priority groups could well ensure
a high degree of freedom from this disease in the years
to come.
During 1961 there were 28 deaths from cancer of the
lung in the Borough (39 in 1960). It has become a duty to
reiterate the proven association between this disease and
heavy cigarette smoking and, indeed, with atmospheric pollution
in general. The recent report of the Royal College of