View report page

PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT
43, White Horse Road,
STEPNEY, E.1
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
Your Worship, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present my report for the
year 1945. The report is again abridged in accordance with
the directions of the Ministry of Health.
The Registrar General's estimate of the population
of the Borough for the raid-year 1945 was 77,610. The population
figures from the last pre-war year are as follows:1938,
200,500; 1939, 197,200; 1940, 136,030; 1941, 75,010;
1942, 71,980; 1943, 72,920; 1944, 73,030.
The birth rate increased from 17,8 in 1944 to 18.5
in 1945.
The death rate was lower than last year, 18.9
compared with 19.5.
There were four maternal deaths, giving a maternal
mortality of 2.6; and the infantile mortality rate was 56.17
compared with 56.6 last year.
I am pleased to be able to report that there were
no deaths this year from diphtheria or scarlet fever and that
whooping cough immunisation increased from 376 to 891 and
diphtheria immunisation, from 762 to 967.
Compared with last year there were 456 more cases
of infectious disease notified, mainly due to measles, of
which there were 725 cases but only one death. The measles
epidemic tends to recur biennially in this country and 1945
was a "measles year."
It is interesting to record that in spite of the
fact that 1945 was a measles year, notifications of pneumonia
decreased from 65 to 55. As a rule, pneumonia tends to increase
in measles years.
Whooping cough decreased from 247 to 96 and there
were two deaths. Diphtheria decreased from 47 to 44, and as
stated above, there were no deaths.
There were no cases of smallpox, one case of typhoid
fever and one of typhus fever. An interesting account of
the latter case will be found in the body of the report.
201 cases of tuberculosis were notified, 16 more
than last year, and there were 110 deaths, 14 more than last
year.
There appears to have been a decline in the incidents
of Scabies in 1945. The formal notifications were 807 compared
with 1155 last year- nevertheless the scabies clinic had a
busy year and I received much help from Dr. R.M. Orpwood and
Dr. Susan Tracey who undertook diagnostic duties during the
afternoon and evening sessions.
Violent deaths again were high, chiefly because of
enemy action in the earlier part of the year. For the last
three years the violent deaths were 51 in 1943; 166 in 1944;
and 174 in 1945.
- 1 -