Annual report of the Department of Public Health, Province of Alberta.

  • Alberta. Department of Public Health.
Date:
[1944]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Department of Public Health, Province of Alberta. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/318 (page 15)
    in 1944 was 0.6, as compared with 1.4 for 1943. Diphtheria is an entirely preventable disease, and there should not be a single death recorded from this cause. Diphtheria Toxoid for the immunization of children is supplied free of charge by the Department to physi¬ cians, local health authorities, and local school authorities. There are still a number of areas in the Province in which little has been done by local authorities to protect pre-school and school childien from this highly dangerous disease. An ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of cure. In 1944, 2,045 children in 63 outlying districts were immunized against Diphtheria by one of the Health Inspectors on the Depart¬ mental staff, who devotes part of his time to this work. No cases of Smallpox were reported in 1944. Surveys which have been made by the Department in previous years indicate that there are many areas in the Province in which not more than one- third of pre-school and school children are vaccinated against Smallpox. From the public health standpoint, this constitutes a, dangerous situation. Should Smallpox occurr in such communities, it would be almost certain to spread with great rapidity, and should the outbreak be of the malignant type of this disease, the results would be tragic. I would again emphasize the importance of vaccin¬ ating children against Smallpox within the first six months of life. Vaccination should be repeated when the child enters school, and need not again be done except on exposure to the disease in after years. Smallpox vaccine is provided free of charge by the Depart¬ ment to physicians, local boards of health, and local school authorities. In 1944, 2,431 persons in 63 outlying areas were vaccinated against Smallpox by the Health Inspector in charge of this work. These outlying areas are much better protected against Diphtheria and Smallpox than many of our well settled areas. In 1944, 2,615 cases of Scarlet Fever, with 9 deaths, were re¬ ported, as compared with 1,676 cases and 7 deaths in 1943. Most of the cases were of the mild type, but even in the mild type com¬ plications occur. Scarlet Fever should be regarded as a serious disease. The more promptly cases are recognized and treated the better for the patients and the communities concerned. The follow¬ ing is a summary of the Scarlet Fever cases reported in 1944. Under 1 year ... 410 1 to 4 years . «qfi 5 to 14 years . 2.34 15 to 19 years . 6'10 20 or over ... 55 Age not stated . . Total. 2^! , _ . ... 1.751 Cases reported by cities _. 319 Cases reported by towns and villages . 5^5 Cases reported by rural districts . There were 101 cases of Typhoid Fever and 7 cases of Para¬ typhoid Fever reported in 1944, as compared with 11 cases and 9 cases respectively in 1943. Eight deaths occurred from Typhoid Fever in 1944, giving a death rate of 1, compared with a death ra e of 0 1 in 1943. An outbreak of Typhoid Fever due to infected cheese was responsible for 83 cases and 7 deaths. The investigation of this outbreak involved a tremendous amount of time and effort, ihis investigation showed that milk shipped to the cheese factory was