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Public Health Department.
Town Hall,.
Wallington.
To His Worship the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borouc-h of Beddington and Wallington.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I submit my report for the year ending 31st December, 1943.
As instructed by the Minister of Health, figures concerning rise
and fall in the population have been withheld for security reasons.
The Report has been kept as small as possible, information being
mostly presented as statistical summaries and in tables which the
Minister considers essential. The vital statistics continue to show
a rise in the birth rate. This rise is general for the whole country. The
rate for Beddington and Wallington has risen from 16.33 for the year
1942 to 17.56 for the year 1943, the total of 487 live births registered
during the year having been exceeded only once before in the last 30
years. The birth rate is now 34 per cent. above the decennial average.
The last time it exceeded 17 per 1,000 of the population was in 1920.
The ratio of male to female births has shown a reduction to 105 in
1943, compared with 109 in 1942 and a decennial average of 111.
The present ratio, however, now corresponds very closely with that
of the country generally. The factors responsible for variations in
the rates of male to female births are not understood, but it has
been noted in the country as a whole, over a long series of years,
that a rise in the ratio of male to female births has been correlated
with a rise in wholesale prices.
The deaths registered in the Borough during 1943 totalled 299,
of which 137 were among males and 162 among females. The death
rate was 10.75, against 11.21 for 1942, and a decennial average of
10.0 per 1,000. As regards infectious diseases, a marked feature of the
year was the exceptional prevalence of measles, especially during the
early months, followed during the summer and autumn by a considerable
amount of scarlet fever. A total of 375 cases of; measles
was notified during the year against only 65 in 1942; of scarlet fever
there were 125 cases against 73 reported last year. Investigation
appears to show that cases of scarlet fever were particularly prevalent
among the children attending certain particular schools in the locality
and special measures have been taken, in collaboration with the
School Medical Authorities, to trace possible sources of infection.
Apart from the increases of measles and scarlet fever mentioned
above, there were only minor changes in the health conditions of
the Borough, which continue to maintain a satisfactory level. Nevertheless,
the housing problem remains acute and is a source of
considerable anxiety.
There is no evidence of any material change in the state of
nutrition of the community commented on by Dr. P. J. O'Connell in
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