[Report 1951] / Medical Officer of Health, Brixham U.D.C.

  • Brixham (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1951
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1951] / Medical Officer of Health, Brixham U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/26
    OF THE RFj)icA:^o^j:cER_o? m^..'iL:ra_FOR__THS l]rb_an district of bri'Ma^T for j.9 Madam Chairman^ Gentlemen, I have the honour to present my Annual Report for the year 19^1» For the second year in succession, the Birth Rate shows an appreciable fall, the Corrected Rate being 12*98 as against 15.21 per 1^000 population. The number of Deahhs increased from 122 in 1950, to 144* In the first quarter of the year there was an unusually large number of cases of Pneumonia, and there were 7 deaths due to this cause. Serious epidemic disease was absent, but there was a large outbreak of measles in a relatively mild form and without fatality in the first summer quarter. In January a case veij suspicious of Smallpox made It advisable for me to call in the Smallpox Consultant for this area of DevoUo The Consultant recommended removal of the patient, and trnit there was no alternative but to consider the condition as being ^hiallpox •'intil further observation and laboratory test could be made^ Meanwhile, as the patient had been in contact with a number of people, and as the number of unvaccinated persons in the town was large, there was a considerable response to the facilities hastily offered for vacoinationr, Within a few days, over 2,000 adults and children were vaccinated by the Medical Practi- tioners of the town, and members of the County Medical Staff. Much help was hurriedly and gladly given by voluntary nursing and other workers, in addition to those professional!-'’’ engaged in health'and welfare serviceg The emergency ended after those few days when information was received from the laboratory that the condition was on test not smallpox. The number of children in the tcAm aged 0-4 years is 659? and aged 5 “• 14 years 1,C82; of these 113 received protection for Diphtheria for the first time, and 74 received■re~inforclng protection (single injection) during the year. It will be seen therefore that almost every child born is receiving primary protection, I have the honour to be Your obedient Servant, A. DICK Medical Officer of Health.