Infant mortality from spina bifida, congenital hydrocephalus, monstrosity, and congenital diseases of the cardiovascular system in England and Wales

The epidemiology of congenital abnormalities is reviewed and the data available in the Registrar General's Annual Reviews for England and Wales from 1848 to 1967 are analysed statistically. The time and place of reported epidemics of spina bifida and anencephalus are tabulated. It is concluded that the pattern of epidemics of dysraphism in time and place is inconsistent with a viral aetiology, and it is suggested that a proportion of embryos may be genetically susceptible to an antimetabolite present in a food under certain conditions of preservation, preparation or storage.