[Report 1959] / Medical Officer of Health, Neath R.D.C.

  • Neath (Wales). Rural District Council.
Date:
1959
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1959] / Medical Officer of Health, Neath R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    INFANTILE MORTALITY. The infantile mortality rate is calculated on the number of infants per thousand live births who die before reaching the age of 12 months. It used to be thought that the social and economic conditions prevailing in an area showed itself in the infantile mortality rate. That is to say. a high rate indicated unsatisfactory social and economic conditions. But I doubt if this is true any more. For many years the Neath Rural Area has enjoyed the sweets of prosperity. The number of large industrial concerns which have come into the area has meant full employment, with regular and better pay packets arriving in the homes. Housing conditions have improved enormously. There are more facilities for the use of leisure, both physically and culturally. All these have helped in improving the living conditions of the people. But the infantile mortality rate has not shown the steady decline one would have expected. Out of 606 births during the year 15 infants died before reaching their first birthday, thus giving an infantile mortality rate of 24 per thousand live births. Out of the 15 infants who died, five died from prematurity, five from conjenital deformities, two from asphyxia and one from septicaemia, bronchiolitis and intercranial haemorrhage. From our present state of medical knowledge, I doubt very much if any of these occurrences could have been prevented. INFECTIOUS DISEASES. On page 27 of this report will be found the number of cases of the notifiable infectious diseases which was reported to the Public Health Department. These were very few indeed and none were of a serious kind. It is worth recording that for the second consecutive year no case of Anterio-Poliomyelitis was notified whereas in the years prior to the vaccination campaign, on an average of four cases of paralytic poliomyelitis occurred each year. I must also mention diphtheria. Although no cases have occurred for very many years nevertheless parents must be warned about complacency. The per- centage of children who are now being immunised against diphtheria has decreased alarmingly. Again I cannot stress too strongly how important it is that every child should be immunised against this disease and I am of the opinion that it is the duty of every parent to see that this is done. The facilities axe there, they are free, and the injections have no ill effect upon the child. TUBERCULOSIS. Twenty cases of pulmonary and two cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis with seven deaths were rendered during the year. Again I have to report that this year there was a marked decrease in the number of notified cases of this disease. This is another disease which is responding to modern treatment and also to the preventive measures which are now being adopted.