View report page

4
In St. George-in-the-East, twenty years ago the birth-rate was always
above 40 per 1,000. During the last five years it has been below 25 per 1,000
with the exception of the year 1922— when it was 25.7.
Previous to 1909, the birth-rate in Mile End Old Town was always above
30 per 1,000, but during the last five years it has been below 25 per 1,000.
The greatest reduction has occurred in the Whitechapel District (Whitechapel,
Mile End New Town, Spitalfields, etc.). Previous to 1897, it was
always above 40 per 1,000. From 1897 to 1912 it fluctuated from 30 to 40
per 1,000 of the population. During the last five years it has been below
18 per 1,000.
(3) Deaths.-Previous to the formation of the Borough Council in 1901,
the death-rate had always been above 21 per 1,000 in the four districts included
in the Borough. Since that time it has never been as high as 21 per 1,000
This improvement has been more marked in the Limehouse and St. George's
Districts. Previous to 1901, the annual death-rate in these two districts was
from 25 to 29 per 1,000. During the last five years, the death-rate has been
less than 15 per 1,000, in these, as well as in the other districts.
Taking the Borough as a whole, the death-rate has been below 14 pef
1,000 during the last five years.
(4) Infantile Mortality.—Satisfactory as the reduction in the general
death-rate must be considered to be, the lowered infantile mortality is still
more satisfactory. In 1901 the infantile mortality for the whole Borough was
165 per 1,000 births. This was due to the high infantile mortality in the
I.imehouse District—211 per 1,000 births—and .184 per 1,000 births in
St. George's. Previous to that year, the infantile mortality in the Limehouse
District had always been above.200 per 1,000 and was the highest in London,
as well as one of the highest throughout the whole country.
Since 1921, when it was 98 per 1,000, the infantile mortality in the Limehouse
District has been below 80 per 1,000, a figure which refers to the whole
Borough as well. The higher infantile mortality in 1921 was due to the very
dry and hot weather we experienced during that summer as well as to the
fact that there was an epidemic of Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria in our
district, which caused the deaths of many infants under one year of age.
(5) Infectious Diseases.—There has been no decline in the number of
children suffering from Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria during the last five years,
but there has been a great reduction in the mortality from these two diseases.