Annual report of the Director of Medical Services / Barbados.

  • Barbados. Department of Medical Services
Date:
[1957]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Annual report of the Director of Medical Services / Barbados. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    advice in 1955, all m very unsatisfactory condition, there were 19 discharges during 1956 a] ] on the advice of the Doctor in charge and in good condition. Forty (40) beds are also available at the General Hospital. These are divided into two wards in a new wing of the Hospital, and the same opportunities for treatment with modern chemotherapy are available to these patients who are under the care of the Tuberculosis Officer. The Medical Officer of Health, St. Michael, and the Tuberculosis Officer are jointly responsible for the very large Tuberculosis Clinics at the Enmore Health Centre. These Clinics give free x-ray examinations to all patients and contacts and treatment for ambulatory cases. The general outlook in respect to Tuberculosis has been very greatly improved during the year under review. 42. Diphtheria. 7 cases with 5 deaths were notified as compared with 12 cases with 1 death in 1955. The continued appearance of this disease points to the need for early immunisation of ALL children attending Infant Clinics. The Triple Vaccine against Diphtheria, Whooping Cough and Tetanus is available at all Clinics, and every effort is being made to encourage mothers to protect their children. 43. Venereal Diseases. Of the 47 deaths caused by syphilis, or 1.9/c of total deaths, 18 occurred within the first year of life and 4 occurred from the first to the fourth year. Improved venereal diseases services based on the overall Health Centre Service will reduce the incidence of this disease. Health Education Services will en¬ courage more cases to come for treatment. Modern drugs of proven value make treatment easy for the patient and ensure cure in a very high percentage. 44. Leprosy. No case was reported. There was 1 death. This disease is no longer considered a problem in the community. Statistics under that part of this Report dealing with the Leper Hospital are of interest. 45. Tetanus. 21 deaths as compared with 22 for 1955. Of this number 15 were infants under one year of age. These infant deaths in the rural areas point clearly to the need for maternity beds in district hospitals which will be able to hold the confi¬ dence of the people in the rural areas. 46. Cerebro-spinal Meningitis. 6 cases and 4 deaths were reported. 47. Malaria. The Colony remained free from Malaria and anopheline mosquitoes were not found. Disinsectisation of schooners and aircraft continues routinely. 48. V/hooping Cough. 23 deaths occurred. Of this number 19 were infants under 1 year of age. 49. Details of the incidence of communicable diseases by parishes are available in Appendix V. The parish of St. Michael may be considered as Urban and the remainder Rural. Part IX. QUARANTINE 50. No quarantine diseases were reported during the year. 51. During the year an intensive campaign was carried out against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, especially in the Port area and at Seawell Airport. 52. Rat destruction in and within the City limits of Bridgetown continued. In this work the Department co-operates with the Chamber of Commerce and the Agricultural Society.