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PREFACE.
Public Health Offices,
Ilford.
May, 1930.
To His Worship the Mayor, the Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borough of Ilford.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I herewith submit the Annual Report required by the Ministry
of Health and Board of Education.
The Registrar General's estimate of the population for the middle
of 1929, which is 116,200, appears to be unduly low. The census
is due to be taken next year and it will be seen how far the estimate
is below the actual population in the district.
The death rate has risen slightly. This was chiefly due to an
outbreak of influenza which occurred in the early months of the
year. It will be noted that there were 39 deaths from influenza
and 112 deaths from pneumonia in 1929 compared with 8 deaths
from influenza and 60 deaths from pneumonia in the previous year,
1928.
For the same reason the infant mortality rate has also risen,
there being 22 deaths from pneumonia in infants under 1 year of age
last year as compared with 11 in 1928.
It will be noted from the report that smallpox has visited the
town on 5 occasions during the year. It is satisfactory to be able
to say that in each case the disease has been limited to the house in
which it first occurred. There were, however, 380 contacts of cases
of smallpox from other districts notified to me. The work of visiting
these contacts, which has fallen upon the sanitary inspectors, has
caused their attention to other duties to b restricted.
It is unlikely that Ilford will continue to remain as immune from
smallpox as it has done during the past 10 years. In the neighbouring
Borough of West Ham over 1,200 cases of smallpox occurred
during 1929. If such an outbreak were to occur in Ilford, a 6d.
rate would have to be expended in dealing with it.
The type of smallpox which is occurring is still of the non-fatal
variety but it is causing immense cost and unnecessary work to the
Local Authorities.