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Australia Yearbook - 2001

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378 Year Book <strong>Australia</strong> <strong>2001</strong><br />

Fertility, family size and overcrowding<br />

As the fertility of women decreased, the average<br />

number of births for women less than 45 years<br />

old fell from around seven before 1900 to three in<br />

1920s (Williams 1989). This meant fewer children<br />

to look after, less crowding in housing and better<br />

provision of those things essential for good<br />

health for the children. In 1920s and 1930s there<br />

were still many living in crowded and poor<br />

industrial areas of large cities and in poor rural<br />

areas in inadequate housing and conditions, and<br />

unemployment made it hard for families, even<br />

those of smaller size, to provide for their<br />

children.<br />

Advances in medical science<br />

Throughout the century, scientific<br />

discoveries started to impact upon health<br />

and medical services. Before World War II<br />

few vaccines were available, the most<br />

significant for children being diphtheria and<br />

tetanus antitoxoid. Pertussis, polio and other<br />

viral vaccines soon followed. The impact of<br />

polio on deaths in young children and<br />

teenagers is shown in graph C6.11; the graph<br />

does not show the large numbers of young<br />

people permanently paralysed due to this<br />

virus. The effect of vaccination was dramatic<br />

(Ada and Isaacs 2000).<br />

C6.11 DEATHS DUE TO POLIOMYELITIS, By Age—1922 to 1998<br />

Rate(a)<br />

0to4<br />

5to14<br />

12.5<br />

15 to 19<br />

10.0<br />

0.0<br />

1922 1928 1935 1942 1949 1956 1963 1970 1977 1984 1991 1998<br />

(a) Rate per 100,000 population.<br />

Source: AIHW Mortality Monitoring System.<br />

7.5<br />

5.0<br />

2.5<br />

no.(a)<br />

80<br />

C6.12 INVASIVE HIB DISEASE IN AUSTRALIA<br />

60<br />

40<br />

20<br />

0<br />

Jan<br />

1990<br />

Jan<br />

1992<br />

Jan<br />

1993<br />

Jan<br />

1994<br />

Jan<br />

1995<br />

Jan<br />

1996<br />

Jan<br />

1997<br />

Jan<br />

1998<br />

Jan<br />

1999<br />

Jan<br />

2000<br />

(a) Number of cases.<br />

Source: Communicable Diseases Network–<strong>Australia</strong> New Zealand—National Notifiable Diseases<br />

Surveillance System.

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