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8
PREFACE.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit the Twenty-Sixth Annual
Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of
Woolwich, which follows, as to contents and arrangement,
the outline indicated by the Ministry of Health in Circular
743, in order to ensure uniformity in the presentation of
Annual Reports of Medical Officers of Health throughout the
country.
The work of the various services of the Department is
referred to in detail in the pages of the report, but it is
necessary to refer briefly to a few aspects of our work.
The chief vital statistics of the year are as follows.
The population, as estimated by the Registrar General, is
141,900 (civil) and 146,200, including non-civilians, compared
with last year's figures of 140,740 and 145,440
respectively. The birth rate, 17.4, is lower than in any previous
year. The marriage rate, 16.01, shews a decrease
compared with previous years. The death rate, 10.2, is the
second lowest in London, and is the second lowest recorded
in the history of the Borough. The infantile mortality rate,
43, equals the record figure obtained in 1923, and is also the
second lowest in London.
The incidence of infectious disease was lower in 1926
than in 1925, mainly due to the absence of an epidemic of
measles. There were, however, increases in the prevalence
of scarlet fever and diphtheria. At the end of the year there
were 1,677 cases of pulmonary and 533 cases of nonpulmonary
tuberculosis, making a total of 2,210 cases known
to be living in the Borough.