Bengal public health report.

  • Bengal (India). Public Health Department.
Date:
[1940]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Bengal public health report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    395/404 (page 385)
    GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL. Department of Public Health and Local Self-Government. Public Health. RESOLUTION—No. 693P.H. CALCUTTA, the 15th APRIL 1942. Read the Report of the Director of Public Health, Bengal, for the year 1940. Vital Statistics.—There were 1,681,846 births registered in the year under report as against 1,597,651 in the preceding year—a rise of 84,195. The birth-rate was 33*7 per mille being 5*3 per cent, above the rate of 1939. * 1,111,082 deaths were registered in 1940 as compared with 1,090,530 in the previous year—an increase of 20,552, the death-rate being 22*3 per mille ancL 1*8 per cent, above that of the preceding year. The total births exceeded the deaths by 570,764 against an excess of 507,121 in 1939. As in the previous year, Calcutta was the solitary district in which deaths exceeded births. The birth-rate in Bengal in the year under review was lower than in all other provinces except Bihar, Assam, North-West Frontier Province and Sind; so also was the death-rate except in the case of United Provinces and the other provinces mentioned. The highest birth-rate was recorded in the district of Nadia (42*3 per mille) followed by Murshidabad (41-9), and the lowest in Malda (24-6) which has been uniformly showing low birth-rates during the previous triennium. As in the past three years, the highest death-rate during the year under report, was recorded in the district of Darjeeling (31*3) while the lowest was recorded in Malda (15-7). The proportion of male births in every 100 female births was 108 against 107 in 1939, while the proportion of male deaths in every 100 female deaths was also 108 against 109 in 1939. The Director of Public Health, Bengal, has pointed out in this connection that the predominance of male births over female births is a feature common to all the provinces of this country though the ratio varies from province to province. It must, however, be observed that, generally speaking the system of record of vital statistics in this country is by no means perfect or as satisfactory as it should be and the margin of inaccuracy which undoubtedly exists cannot be gauged. The question of evolving a sound system of collection of vital statistics in this province is however engaging the atten¬ tion of the Public Health Department of Government. Infantile and Maternal Mortality.—The total number of infantile deaths in 1940 was 267,894 compared to 234,301 in 1939. The infant mortality rate recorded an increase, being 159-3 per mille against 146-6 in 1939. The infantile deaths represented 24-1 per cent, of the total mortality in the province during the year under review. 55 per cent, of the infant mortality were recorded among infants under one month, 29-4 per cent, among infants between one and six months and 15-6 per cent, among those between six