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4
The death rate, when corrected to allow for the high proportion of
elderly residents, is 10.7 per thousand population which compares
favourably with other towns in the country.
In Section A deaths are set out under their various causes. Reference
to the Tables shows that 19.02% of deaths were caused by cancer
compared with 18.37% in the previous year. The raised percentage
is almost entirely due to the increased number of cases of cancer of
the lung which occurred in men.
NOTIFIABLE DISEASES.
The Table in Section F sets out the number of cases of infectious
diseases notified during 1958.
Measles.
Following the epidemic of measles which occurred in the Spring
of 1957 the incidence in 1958 was very moderate and no case required
admission to hospital.
Whooping Cough.
Only 20 cases were notified and these were quite mild. There is no
doubt that immunization against this disease is playing a valuable part.
Poliomyelitis.
Only one case was notified and confirmed as a definite case. This
occurred very late in the year, and the patient was the mother of a
young child. About 3 weeks before the patient became ill, the child
had an indefinite febrile illness which was not diagnosed. He had not
been vaccinated against poliomyelitis and it is possible that he contracted
the non-paralytic form of the disease and infected his mother.
The patient had quite extensive paralysis but fortunately she made
a very good recovery.
Dysentery.
Fifty cases were notified and 2 were admitted to hospital. This
unusually large number was due mainly to an outbreak of dysentery
due to Shigella Sonnei at Parkshot Day Nursery and to a similar
outbreak at Rivermead School, Kingston, which occurred at about the
same time and which affected a number of the residents of Ham.
Investigations revealed that 10 nursery children were infected with
Shigella Sonnei and that in a number of cases their home contacts