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speculate on the changes which may come about within the next
few years, especially as I am drawing near the time when my
retirement would normally be due. None-the-less, I must express
the hope that, whatever London Borough is finally formulated,
the Medical Officer of Health will have the privilege of looking
after the public health of the district in the widest possible sense.
The vital statistics for 1961 were again satisfactory, and
compare well with those of preceding years. The death rate was
10.8 as against 11.0 in 1960, a rate which is virtually unaltered.
The birth rate fell from 14.7 in 1960 and 13.0 in 1959 to 14.14
in 1961. This fall is very small, perhaps too small to have any
significance. Nevertheless, it should be noted. The infantile
mortality rate, i.e. the number of infants who died during the first
year of life per thousand live births, was 16.0 as against 14.80
in 1960 and 15.30 in 1959. There was therefore a very slight
rise, yet it can be said that, for three years running, Southgate
must have enjoyed one of the lowest infantile mortality rates in
the country. There were no deaths from puerperal sepsis ; indeed
no deaths took place during childbirth. In point of fact, during
the past ten years only four deaths took place during childbirth,
none of which were due to sepsis. This is a highly satisfactory
situation, due to a variety of causes; better midwifery, better
ante-natal care, and the almost incredible advances in the use of
antibiotics.
The number of infectious diseases notified during 1961 was
considerably in advance of those notified during the previous year,
915 as against 336. This was more than due to the fact that
1961 was a 'measles year,' 753 cases of measles being reported
as against 41 in 1960. The infectious sickness rate for the year
was, for this reason, 12.78 as compared with 4.80 during 1960.
Since the increase in measles notifications accounted for more than
the total increases, these figures have little significance in themselves.
More important, much more important, is the fact that
the type of infectious disease met with during 1961, indeed since
the war, is very much milder on the whole than previously. It is
also worthy of note that no cases of poliomyelitis were notified
during the year, the last case of this particular disease occurring
in 1959. The infectious diseases picture will be more fully discussed
in the portion of the Annual Report which deals with the
prevalence and control of infectious diseases. I will therefore
make no further comments at this stage.
Year by year, I have stressed the importance of housing as it
affects the entire pattern of Public Health ; or, to use what is
perhaps a better expression in this context, the pattern of preventive
medicine. I have often felt that, more than ever as the
years go by, pure public health and housing are inseparable. Those
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