Annual report of the Director, Medical & Health Department / Colony of Mauritius.

  • Mauritius. Medical and Health Department
Date:
[1921]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Director, Medical & Health Department / Colony of Mauritius. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/26 (page 7)
    (2) The conveyance of grain from Port Louis from rat-infested stores'. Tins probably accounted for many plague cases up country. * . Diphtheria.—r-In the whole Colony 38 cases were notified of which 3 (in hospital), proved fatal. Measles.—In the whole Colony out of 303 cases registered 46 deaths occurred. 49 cases were treated in hospitals and all were cured. Scarlet Fever.—Nil. Cancer or Malignant Disease.—Ninety cases admitted into hospitals, with 11 deaths. Diarrhceal Diseases.—These comprise diarrhoea and enteritis. In the whole Colony ,875 deaths occurred, representing a death rate of 2.3 per thousand of population. In the hospitals 584 cases were admitted, resulting in 66 deaths—the case mortality was 11.3%. ' ’ Heart Diseases.—These heart affections include organic diseases of the heart, pericarditis, endocarditis, valvular disease and hypertrophy. In the whole Colony the organic diseases of the heart numbered 206. The number of .cases admitted into hospital was 70 with 26 deaths. Venereal Diseases.—There is a fall in the number of cases attending hospital in 1921, the figures being 320 against 472 in 1920. Outdoor cases were also less numerous : 273 against 405 the year before. Primary infection was diagnosed in 136 of the hospital cases and 63 of the outdoor cases. NOTIFIABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES Ordinance No. 47 of 1878 provides for the compulsory notification of Plague, Cholera, Choleraic Diarrhoea, Small-pox, Yellow fever, Diphtheria and Membranous Croup, Measles, Scarlatina or Scarlet Fever, and the fevers known by any of the following names : Typhus, Typhoid or Enteric, Relapsing, Continued and Puerperal Fever, and also Cerebro-spinal Meningitis (Government Notice No. 65 of 1908). The cases notified to the Sanitary Authorities are as follows :— Plague ... ... 375 cases Puerperal Fever ... ... 18 cases Typhoid Fever ... 288 „ Erysipelas... ... ... 47 Diphtheria ... ... 38 „ Meningitis (cerebro-spinal) 5 Measles ... ... 303 ,, There is no compulsory notification of tuberculosis in this Colony, though this has been adopted in other places, The question is no doubt a complex one and deserves serious consideration. Though tuberculosis is not notifiable at present, this is being altered under the new Health Ordinance. Dysentery too has, for some time past, been engaging the attention of sanitarians, as being deserving of classification as a notifiable disease. The matter has been taken in hand here and is receiving consideration. Pulmonary Tuberculosis.-—Hospital admissions indicate a fall under this head : 557 in 1921 against 744 in 1920. The case mortality was 23*.8% against 24.7% the year before. The mortality from tuberculosis in the whole Colony was 945 against 974 in 1920 and 941 for the five-year period 1916-20. The following statement shows the classification of deaths from Tubercular diseases for the last five years. Deaths due to : 19] 7 1918 1919 1920 1921 Average for 5 Pulmonary tuberculosis and Phthisis 99.3 9.80 1,065 1,005 1,010 1,010 All forms of tuberculosis ... 1,019 1,107 1,104 1,030 1,035 1,040 Beri-Beri.—Not notifiable.—In the whole Colony 71 deaths were registered against 29 the year before. The hospital returns show 230 admissions with 22 deaths. This represents an increase over the figure (133) for 1920. Ankylostomiasis.— For the whole Colony 34 deaths were registered against 16 the year before and an. average of 15 for the five years 1916-20. There were 212 admissions into hospitals with 7 deaths. * No plague iu man or rodents Las been discovered during t.Ue first six months of this year, although careful investigation is maintained and stringent enquiries are carriedlout at Shipping Dept., quays, grain stores; and rat catching continues actively. Yet, with the return of warm weather and increase of insect life, a recrudescence may he accepted.