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
Heston and Isleworth 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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INFANT MORTALITY. During 1958 there were 21 deaths of children under the age of 1 year. This represents an infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births of 16.6 as compared with 22.5 for England and Wales. The causes of infant deaths are shown in Table V. In the following table, the change in the local infant mortality rate over 5 year periods from 1898 is shown:-
| No. of live births | No. of deaths under 1 year | Infant Mortality Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 - 1902 | 4,369 | 698 | 160 |
| 1903 - 1907 | 5,264 | 665 | 126 |
| 1908 - 1912 | 5,383 | 590 | 110 |
| 1913 - 1917 | 4,661 | 461 | 99 |
| 1918 - 1922 | 4,326 | 327 | 76 |
| 1923 - 1927 | 4,333 | 271 | 63 |
| 1928 - 1932 | 6,055 | 318 | 53 |
| 1933 - 1937 | 7,121 | 313 | 44 |
| 1938 - 1942 | 6,912 | 393 | 57 |
| 1943 - 1947 | 8,210 | 345 | 42 |
| 1948 - 1952 | 6,680 | 146 | 22 |
| 1953 - 1957 | 6,157 | 134 | 22 |
| 1958 | 1,264 | 21 | 17 |
The hard core of infant deaths is due to congenital malformations, prematurity
and associated conditions and most of these deaths occur before the age of one week.
Continued effort is needed from all concerned to improve ante-natal care, management
of labour and the nurture of young babies.
MATERNAL MORTALITY. No death occurred due to causes associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Maternal deaths are usually divided into those due to septic infection and those due to diseases and other conditions associated with pregnancy and labour, and the local trend of deaths from these two causes is shown below;-
| Maternal deaths per 1,000 total (live and still births) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sepsis | Other Causes | Total | |
| 1930 - 1934 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 4.4 |
| 1935 - 1939 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 |
| 1940 - 1944 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| 1945 - 1949 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| 1950 - 1954 | - | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| 1955 | - | - | - |
| 1956 | - | - | - |
| 1957 | - | - | - |
| 1958 | - | - | - |
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Notification to the Medical Officer of Health is the essential preliminary to
control of infectious disease. The diseases required by statute to be notified:smallpox,
cholera, diphtheria, membranous croup, erysipelas, scarlet fever, typhus
fever, paratyphoid dever, relapsing fever, plague, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, malaria,
dysentery, puerperal pyrexia, ophthalmia neonatorum, acute primary pneumonia, acute
influenzal pneumonia, whooping cough, measles, acute encephalitis, meningococcal infection
and food poisoning. It is known that all cases are not notified, but there are
no grounds for suspecting that the level of notification varies to any great extent
from year to year. Persons travelling overseas may be required to produce evidence of
recent vaccination against smallpox or inoculation against yellow fever, cholera and
typhoid fever. Such certificates require to be endorsed by the Medical Officer of
Health, and during the year 575 were so endorsed.
INCIDENCE OP NOTIFIABLE DISEASE- The number of cases notified during the year
is shown in Table VI and the trend of infectious diseases during the last 20 years
in Table VII.
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