[Report 1948] / Medical Officer of Health, Durham County Palatine / County Council.

  • Durham (England : County). Council.
Date:
1948
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1948] / Medical Officer of Health, Durham County Palatine / County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/142 (page 4)
    To the Chairman and Members of the County Council of Durham. Ladies and Gentlemen, T have pleasure in submitting my annual report upon the public:! health services of the County Council for the year 1948, the sixtieth report ofi| its kind. ' Population.—The Registrar General’s estimate of population shows jj' an increase of 19,217 compared with 1947, which is 11,299 more than the'I natural increase. Birth-rate.—The number of live births registered fell by 1,575 with it: a corresponding reduction in the birth-rate of 2.2 per 1,000 population. There were 475 stillbirths, or 26.0 per 1,000 total births. Infant Mortality.—There were 831 deaths of children under one year f or 47 per 1,000 live births, this being the lowest figure recorded for the county, ,1^ Maternal Mortality.—A further satisfactory reduction was recorded > the rate being 1.31 per 1,000 births, again the lowest rate recorded for the •» county. Infectious Diseases.—Although there was a slight increase (17) in the I number of confirmed cases of diphtheria notified the number of deaths fell I from 8 to 6. The remarkable decline in recent years confirms the value of t immunisation. For the second year in succession no deaths were registered from j typhoid or para-typhoid infections, while there was a considerable reduction 1 in the number of cases of poliomyelitis, the number of cases falling to the i yearly average. The only unsatisfactory epidemiological feature was the increased incidence of respiratory tuberculosis. This increase may to some extent be regarded as resulting from the increased facilities for diagnosis in consequence of the introduction of mass miniature radiography early in the year. The death-rate from respiratory tuberculosis was, however, the lowest recorded for the county. National Health Service Act, 1946.—This Act came into operation on the 5th July, when the various schemes of the County Council as Local Health Authority became operative. The schemes are included in the body of the report.