London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
East Ham 1926
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]
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COMPARATIVE INFANT MORTALITY RATE—YEAR 1926.
| Birth-rate per 1,000 total population. | Rate per 1,000 Births. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Diarrhoea and Enteritis (under 2 yrs.) | Total deaths under 1 year | ||
| England and Wales | 17.8 | 8.7 | 70 |
| 105 County Boroughs and Great Towns (including London) | 18.2 | 11.8 | 73 |
| 158 Smaller Towns (1921 adjusted populations, 20,000—50,000) | 17.6 | 6.6 | 67 |
| London | 17.1 | 11.8 | 64 |
| EAST HAM | 17.1 | 8.4 | 56 |
The Comparative Infant Mortality Rate shows East Ham to
be still greatly more healthy than England as a whole, and more
healthy than London. The total deaths under one year per 1,000
births in England and Wales were 70; in London the figure was
64; in East Ham only 56 per 1,000 infants under one year of age
died during 1926. The small actual increase in the Infant Mortality
Rate over 1925 is accounted for by deaths during the epidemic
of Measles during the Spring, and a slight increase of Diarrhoea
deaths during the early Autumn.
Infectious Diseases.
Infants suffering from certain infectious diseases are treated
in the Borough Hospital.
Reference has already been made to the effect of deaths from
Measles during 1926 on the Infant Mortality Rate. A serious outbreak
of Measles during the Spring of last year resulted in the
deaths of 27 children under the age of five years. In the previous
year, 1925, only one death was due to this cause. The actual
cause of death in Measles is usually really a sequel to that disease,
Broncho-Pneumonia, which is very apt to follow and complicate
Measles.
A decision of the Metropolitan Asylums Board, which was
agreed to by the Ministry of Health, the London County Council
and the Medical Officers of all the Metropolitan Boroughs, was
announced in October of last year, that must have a wide influence