[Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, East Sussex County Council.

  • East Sussex (England). County Council
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, East Sussex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/48 (page 4)
    EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL. To the Chairman and Members of the East Sussex County Council. My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honour to submit the sixty-first Annual Report on the health of the Admini* trative County of East Sussex. The general well-being of our people remains at a high level; the ordinary infection diseases, for example, being nowadays almost trivial compared with some years ago—even the incidence is sometimes high. By contrast, some virus diseases, notably poliomyeliti have been more vigorous from time to time: during 1955 47 cases occurred in this county. The Infant Mortality Rate has, I regret to report, risen from 15.49 (^^st year’s lowesi ever figure) to 18.42; even this latter figure is the lowest recorded except for last year’; Although the total of children under the age of one year who died during the year is far froi negligible (67) we are approaching the stage when deaths are so few that a difference of a fe’ either way makes a marked difference in the rate. The matter is further considered in th body of this Report. The immunisation state of the county continues at a very satisfactory level though, a elsewhere, the very absence of diphtheria is its own enemy in that people forget what a serior disease it can be. The use of combined antigen protecting against whooping cough an diphtheria therefore hais a two-fold advantage: it greatly reduces the chance of childre getting severe attacks of whooping cough, a risk to which parents are still very alive, and i; carries as a useful passenger the protection against diphtheria. During the year special attention has been paid to those areas where the level of vaccine tion against smallpox was relatively low; and I am sure my general medical practitioners wi share my satisfaction that of children under the age of i year, in 1955, 66.9% were vaccinatec the figure for 1954 being 61%. Although the maintenance of the health of a community depends on the complex intei play of many factors, climatic, geographical, social, medical and, no doubt, many others, basic need which has been recognised for so long that it tends to be taken for granted, an therefore perhaps even overlooked, is that of an adequate supply of wholesome water. 1 feature of modem life in this country has been a rising demand for water per head of an in creasing population: not only are social standards rising but these lead to a demand for wate supplied by the main and this in turn leads to increased consumption through easy aval] ■ ability. It is no secret that in this county the water undertakers are seeking new sources c ' supply as well as increasing the draw from existing weUs, and at the present rate we are no j far from the stage when an apparent or real shortage may be felt. The attention of reader f is drawn to further remarks in the body of this Report, under the heading of Sanitar'' i Circumstances.