The Straits Settlements medical report.

  • Straits Settlements. Medical Department
Date:
[1906]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Straits Settlements medical report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    6. The following table gives the number of rases of Zymotic diseases in the several Settlements in the years 1905 and 1906, and deaths therefrom, not including cases imported into ihe Colony. Plague. Cholera. Small-pox. r 1905 1906 Settlement. 1905 1905 1905 1906 Cases. Deaths. Cases. Deaths. Cases. c/5 JG V a 1 S9SH3 1 1 Deaths. Cases. Deaths, 1 Cases. A JC S <D Singapore ... 18 17 10 9 22 !9 192 172 23 11 26 IO Penang .. 2 2 ... ... * 2 2 5 5 2 2 Province Wellesley... ^ 5 5 j ... I07 92 82 19 I Malacca . ... ... 18 5 I Total ... 25 24 10 9 22 !9 301 266 128 35 34 13 * Choleraic diarrhoea. 7. Plague.—The cases in Singapore occurred amongst 9 Chinese and 1 Tamil who had been resident here for some time and in none could the source of infection be traced. The Municipality took vigorous measures in the destruction of rats throughout the year. 8. Cholera.— In Singapore the first case occurred on the 23rd January’, and the outbreak continued intermittently until the 28th November, when it ceased With the exception of the 18th April, when 18 cases were reported, the disease did not at any time assume an epidemic aspect. The outbreak in the Province occurred early in April and lasted for a month. It speaks well of those who. had to deal with the outbreak that no case found its way to Penang. 9. Small-pox.—The cases reported in the several Settlements were all sporadic. 10. Diphtheria —Eighteen cases with 5 deaths were reported in Singapore. None in the other Settlements. 11. Enteric fever.— One hundered and eighty-six cases were reported in Singapore with yy deaths. 'Ihe Penang Hospital Returns shew 15 admissions with 4 deaths; Province Wellesley 2 cases with 2 deaths, while no admissions are shewn in Malacca. As has been pointed out before, these figures are not to be relied upon as representing the cases under this heading. 12. Beri-beri.— One thousand five hundred and seven deaths were registered throughout the Settlements as due to this disease as against 1,888 in 1905 and 2,287 in 1904. These figures shew that the disease is on the decrease. Coincident with this, however, is the fact of the patients in hospitals having continued to be fed on parboiled rice throughout the y?ear, with good results as will be gathered from the different reports under this heading. 13. Venereal Diseases.—The admissions to all the hospitals in 1906 numbered 2,371 with 50 deaths. In 1905 there were 2,105 admissions with 88 deaths, and in 1904 1,784 admissions with 95 deaths. Of those admitted in 1906, 265 were females of whom 199 were prostitutes. 14. Phthisis.—Two thousand seven hundred and nine deaths were registered as due to this cause (Singapore contributing 1,664) as against 3,015 in 1905, and 2,534 the year previous. 15. Dysentery and Diarrhoea.—There were 932 and 662 deaths respectively from these diseases as against 813 and 1,066 respectively in 1905. 15 A. Malarial Fever.—The following steps have been taken in the Straits Settlements for the eradication of Malarial fever during the year 1906 :— (1) Mosquito proof wards erected at most of the Native hospitals and where mosquito proof wards have not been erected mosquito curtains supplied. (2) A course of lectures on elementary Hygiene was given to the school Teachers in Singapore.
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