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3
Borough of Mitcham
HEALTH REPORT FOR 1961
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have much pleasure in submitting my annual report for the
year 1961.
The general health in the Borough has been good and there
was no special outbreak of infectious disease.
The notifications of infectious diseases were 960 compared with
338 in 1960. The increase was mainly due to measles for which
1961 was a year of high incidence.
There were no cases of poliomyelitis. Since 1957 there has been
only one case which occurred in 1959.
Whooping cough notifications at 58 shewed a return to the
downward trend.
In December, 1961, outbreaks of smallpox, brought in from
Pakistan, started in several areas of England and Wales which led to
a widespread request for vaccination.
As there were no cases in this area the Ministry did not
recommend general vaccination.
The very high vaccination rate in Mitcham is worthy of note,
namely 75 per cent. of all babies under one in 1961 and an average
of 72 per cent. over the past five years, which compares with just over
41 per cent. for England and Wales.
It is also of interest that I have done about one third of the
babies vaccinated in the six years 1956-1961 inclusive. Incidentally,
the success rate was 99.85 per cent. there being only two failures at
the first attempt in the 1,341 vaccinations carried out.