Mexborough & Swinton Times – Friday 11 May 1934
Medical Officer’s Annual Report
The annual report of the Medical Officer for Conisboro’ for 1933 shows that during the year there were 197 male and 185 female births, a rate of 21.05, against 26.06 last year, and 14.4 for England and Wales.
There were 138 male and 89 female deaths, a rate of 12.5, against 11.5 last year and 12.3 for the country.
The chief causes of death were influenza 24, cancer 19, heart disease 29, bronchitis 14, pneumonia 37 (although only 30 cases were notified), congenital debility 19, and violence 12.
There were 50 deaths of infants under one year, a rate of 130.8 per 1,000 births, against 58.7 last year and 64.0 for the country.
During the year 175 privy middens were converted. A dozen new houses were erected by private enterprise; no Council houses being built.
One hundred houses were found unfit for human habitation and 375 persons required re-housing.
The meat inspector examined all the slaughter houses and inspected 837 beasts, 31 calves, 1,281 sheep, 315 lambs, and 1,327 pigs, making a total of 3,924, ten more than last year. In all 1,346 pounds of meat were destroyed after condemnation.
Excluding tuberculosis, 255 cases of infectious diseases were notified. Of these 172 were of scarlet fever, chiefly among children of school age, and the isolation hospital was taxed beyond its capacity.
The Medical Officer adds that early diagnosis and isolation will tend eventually to eradicate this disease.
There were 26 cases of diphtheria causing two deaths, 10 of erysipelas, and 13 of cerebro-spinal fever.
There were 29 cases of tuberculosis, three less than last year.
There was an epidemic of measles in the last four months, culminating in the closing for a month of a school department.