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

  • Mauritius. Medical and Health Department
Date:
[1909]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

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    The case-mortality was 0.91%, the lowest on record for a few years past, a circumstance which tends to point to the fact that the lowered incidence of malaria during the year was associated with a reduction in the virulence of the affection. Hypertrophy of the Spleen -.—There were 886 admissions under that head against 1,193 in 1908. This decrease concurrently with a fall in the admissions for malaria lends further support to the belief that most at any rate of the cases of splenic enlargement seen at the hospitals are of malarial origin. Dysentery :—A marked fall is also observable in the admissions for this complaint of which there were 988 against 1,605 in 1908. The death-rate from that cause has also been lower, viz : 13.9% of the cases treated as com¬ pared with 14.8% in the previous year. Enteric Fever :—Seventy-seven cases were treated in the hospitals with 17 deaths, showing an increase of 13 over the figure for 1908. The hos¬ pital case-mortality fell from 25% in that year to 22% in 1909. Diphtheria :—The admissions for this disease numbered 9 with 2 deaths. In 1908 the figures were 16 and 6 respectively. Influenza :—A steady decline has taken place in the number of cases of this affection admitted in the public hospitals since the epidemic of 1906 when the admissions for that cause reached 1,768. The figures for the three succeed¬ ing years have been 1,264, 1,051, and 949, respectively. Pneumonia :—Was also on the decrease giving 450 admissions against 508 and a lowered death-rate of 31.7% against 33.8% in 1908. Tuberculosis :—In its various manifestations accounted for only 1,014 admissions against 1,266 in 1908. It is satisfactory to note that the total number of deaths from that cause has also fallen from 1,091 in 1908 to 986 in the year under review. Cerebro-spinal Meningitis :—Only 3 cases were admitted with 2 deaths. In this respect also 1909 compared favourably with 190S which showed 15 admissions with 12 deaths. Beri-Beri :—Gave 23 admissions with 1 death. Only 8 cases were treated in the public hospitals in the preceding year, all of which recovered. Nephritis :—544 cases against 669 in 1908. Syphilis :—The figures given below show the steady progress made by this disease for the last six years : Years. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. Admissions... 352 359 433 463 563 618 Leprosy :—Eleven cases of this affection were provisionally received in the public hospitals during the year as compared with 17 in 1908. Plague :—Thirty-five cases were admitted. Contrary to what obtained the year before and as a consequence of a more extensive outbreak of the disease, cases of plague were returned from a much larger number of institutions# Mental diseases :—Forty-four patients suffering from mental dis¬ orders received temporary treatment in the general hospitals pending their removal to the Lunatic Asylum. The number of inmates on the roll of that Institution on December 31st. 1909 was 430, or practically the same as the number present on the same date in 1908 which was 431. On the other hand the <laily average population of the Asylum was 427.3 showing a decrease of 6.6o as compared with that of the preceding year. The decrease was more marxed among the males (5.1) than among the females (1.55). The total number of certified lunatics in the Colony in 1909 including the patients out on pi-ocation and those in the Lunatic Branch Wards of Barkly Asylum was 625 giving a proportion of one insane to 600 of the population or ] .67 per thousand.