Number and Percent of Infant and Child Deaths by Cause, Gender,
Age, Race, and Ethnicity
Mecklenburg County 2007
Demographics
Total Number of
Deaths
(N=142)
Natural Deaths
(Non-Injury Related)
(N=113)
Preventable Deaths
Unintentional &
Intentional Injury &
Undetermined
(N=29)
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Total
Gender
142 100% 113 100% 29 100%
95
47
67%
33%
79
34
70%
30%
16
13
55%
45%
Male
Female
Age
Infants (< 1 year)
Children Ages 1 to 17
1 to 5 years
6 to 10 years
11 to 17 years
Race and Ethnicity
White Non-Hispanic
African-American Non-
Hispanic
Other Non-Hispanic
96
46
12
10
24
68%
32%
8%
7%
17%
87
26
10
8
8
77%
23%
9%
7%
7%
9
20
2
2
16
31%
69%
7%
7%
55%
39 27% 32 28% 7 24%
68 48% 53 47% 15 52%
2 1% 2 2% 0 0%
*Hispanics can be of any race.
Note:
Percentages are out of the total number of deaths for each column.
Natural Deaths refer to deaths that are non injury-related (i.e. cancer, SIDS, Prematurity etc.).
Unintentional Injury deaths are comprised of Motor Vehicle Injuries and All Other Unintentional Injuries such at fire, fall, accidental suffocation etc.
Intentional Injury is comprised of Homicides and Suicides.
There were 5 undetermined deaths that were placed under the Preventable category. These will be separated out in the charts below. These 5 deaths were all infants with risk factors for an unsafe sleep death.
Other Non-Hispanic refers to individuals who are Non-White and Non-Hispanic but the exact race is not specified in the death file.

All Infant and Child Fatalities Ages 0 to 17 by Cause of Death
Mecklenburg County, 2000-2004
Year
Total Child Fatalities
Natural Deaths
Prematurity/LBW
Congenital Defects
SIDS
Other
Unintentional and
Intentional Injury
2000
143
2001 2002
138 138
Natural Deaths
2003
123
2004
157
5-year
Average
2000 – 2004
140
112 109 110 101 132 113
25 15 22 17 17 19
17 21 18 23 22 20
4 9 5 6 9 7
66 64 65 55 84 67
28
Preventable Deaths
26 24 19 23 24
Motor Vehicle
Injuries
10
Unintentional Injury Deaths
11 10 3 9 9
All Other
Unintentional
Injuries
Drowning
Fire
Fall
Suffoc/Strangl
Firearm Related
Poison
Other
Homicide
Firearm
Suffoc/Strangl
Stabbing
Other
Suicide
Firearm
Hang/Strangl/Suffoc
Other
Undetermined
Child Abuse &
Neglect*
7 4 9 6 9 7
5 0 1 1 1 2
0 0 0 0 1 < 1
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 3 3 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 2 < 1
2 4 4 1 4 3
Intentional Injury Deaths
9 6 3 6 4 6
6 4 3 4 0 3
0 0 0 0 1 < 1
0 0 0 0 0 0
3 2 0 2 3 2
0 5 2 4 1 2
0 3 1 1 0 1
0 2 1 3 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0
Other Causes and Contributing Factors of Death
3 3 4 3 2 3
7 4 4 5 7 5

Year
All Infant and Child Fatalities Ages 0 to 17 by Cause of Death
Mecklenburg County, 2003-2007
Total Child Fatalities
Natural Deaths
Prematurity/LBW
Congenital Defects
SIDS
Other
Unintentional and
Intentional Injury
2003
123
2004 2005
157 158
Natural Deaths
132 119
2006
141
2007
142
5-year
Average
2003 – 2007
144
101 110 113 115
17 17 20 13 13 16
23 22 18 26 26 23
6 9 3 3 3 5
55 84 54 68 71 66
19
Preventable Deaths
23 31 27 23 25
Motor Vehicle
Injuries
3
Unintentional Injury Deaths
9 8 7 8 7
All Other
Unintentional
Injuries
Drowning
Fire
Fall
Suffoc/Strangl
Firearm Related
Poison
Other
Homicide
Firearm
Suffoc/Strangl
Stabbing
Other
Suicide
Firearm
Hang/Strangl/Suffoc
Other
Undetermined
Child Abuse &
Neglect*
6 9 11 8 5 8
1 1 1 1 2 1
0 1 0 0 0 < 1
0 0 0 0 0 0
3 1 9 3 3 4
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 2 0 2 0 1
1 4 1 2 0 2
Intentional Injury Deaths
6 4 10 11 6 7
4 0 6 8 5 5
0 1 1 0 0 < 1
0 0 1 2 1 < 1
2 3 0 1 0 1
4 1 2 1 4 2
1 0 1 0 2 <1
3 1 1 1 2 2
0 0 0 0 0 0
Other Causes and Contributing Factors of Death
3 2 8 4
5 7 2 2
5
2
4
4

Notes: Numbers in the columns may not add up to total for each death category because Child
Abuse and Neglect is a subset of all causes listed above and therefore these cases are included in the other categories. These cases are assigned to this category by the Prevention subcommittee upon review of the case.
Undetermined cases are separate from the other death categories listed above. These deaths represent cases in which the Medical Examiner was not able to identify the exact cause of death.
There is no known cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and therefore it is not considered preventable so it is listed under Natural Deaths.
Preventable Deaths - The category Other is used to denote cases in which the manner of death is known (i.e. Homicide, Suicide, Accidental etc.) but the circumstances of the death are unknown or are not included on the list among the most common types of deaths that occur in each category.
Natural Deaths – The category Other includes types of deaths that do not occur in same frequency as the leading causes of death.
Source: NC DHHS/State Center for Health Statistics and the Mecklenburg County Child Fatality
Prevention Team
Prepared by the Mecklenburg County Health Department, Epidemiology Program, June 2009.