[Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Chorley Borough.

  • Chorley (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1970
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Chorley Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/80 (page 7)
    -7- Deaths from heart diseases numbered 144 a decrease of 12 compared with 196S» those from ischaemic heart diseases (coronary disease) decreasing only slightly from 127 to 125. Deaths from cerebro-vascular diseases (strokes) showed a very considerable drop from 90 to 62. Bronchitis and emphysema accounted for 17 deaths in 1970 compared with 28 in the previous year. Other causes of death showed only minor variations with those in the year 1969. The number of infants who died in 1970 before reaching one year of age was 8 which compares with 5 in the previous year. This gives an Infantile Mortality Bate for the Borough of 16 per 1,000 live births which still compares favourably with the corresponding rates for the Country as a whole and Lancashire of 18.0 and 19*8 respectively. It is again pleasing to report that there were no deaths attributable to child-birth or abortion- there have been no such deaths since 1958. It is also a cause for satisfaction that for the second consecutive year there were no deaths recorded from tuberculosis. The number of cases of infectious diseases notified during the year was 598 including 7 cases of tuberculosis as compared with 115 including 11 cases of tuberculosis in 1969* Measles accounted for 337 and Infective Jaundice 222 of the total notifications. Notifications of scarlet fever were 24 as compared with 27 in the previous year. Food poisoning notifications numbered 5 as against 4 and dysentery none compared with 1 in 1969» As stated in my last Report a vaccine is now available against measles and it is hoped that parents of children who have not had the disease will have them protected - a simple procedure involving only one injection - so that measles may be eradicated as has been practically so in several other infectious diseases. During the year 1970 protection against yet another infectious diseases became available - namely rubella or german measles. This disease is now recognised as a serious danger to women during pregnancy because of its potentially harmful effects on the unborn child resulting in congenital abnormalties. Vaccination against german measles is offered to all girls between the ages of 11 and 14 years and again only one injection is required. The availability of these latest vaccines must not, however, lead to the neglect of protection against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and poliomyelitis, otherwise there is a real danger of the re-appearance of these diseases as has been emphasised by the recent outbreak of diphtheria in Manchester. A disease against which no really effective measures of control have yet been found is infective jaundice which, as mentioned above, was prevalent in the Borough during 1970. Infective jaundice was made generally notifiable in 1968 under the Public Health (Infective Jaundice) Regulations.