[Report 1956] / Medical Officer of Health, Denbighshire County Council.

  • Denbighshire (Wales). County Council. no2004062613.
Date:
1956
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1956] / Medical Officer of Health, Denbighshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Foreword It is my privilege to present the Annual Report on the Health Services in the County for the year 1956. There Avere few significant changes in the vital statistics of the coui'-ty. The Birth Rate increased on the jirevious year from 13.7 to 15.1 while the Death Rate declined. The Infant Mortality Rate reached the lowest level on record and signihcantly, fm- the hrst time, is below the rate for England and Wales This is a very sensitive index to the social conditions and the efficacy of the welfare services Ini a locality and it is gratifying to find that the Infant IMortality Rate for Denbighshire is so low. Infectious diseases were not prevalent during 1956 with the exception of Dysentery which appeared in Llangollen during February, 1956. The outbreak was quickly controlled but spread to a minor extent to neighbouring localities. Chickenpox was also present in some parts of the County and this materially inter- fered with the Poliomyelitis Vaccination programme. The avail- ability of Poliomyelitis Vaccine, even in limited supplies, heralded a new advance in preventive medicine. Over 6,000 parents volun- teered to have their children vaccinated bnt only 600 children received the full dosage before the end of the year. Those parents should be commended for their foresight and readiness to accept for their children a prophylactic which, although thorough!}^ tested in the laboratory, was a new and an untried vaccine. Preliminary reports indicate that the Vaccine is both safe and efficacious. I trust parents will not fail to ensure that their children are vaccinated against poliomyelitis, for this disease can so completely handicap children for the remainder of their lives. .Several .Spastic children from the Wrexham area have been travelling by ambulance to the Birkenhead Spastic Centre but, with petrol rationing, arrangements were made for them to travel by train. This threw an additional burden on the parents, 'fhe