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

  • Mauritius. Medical and Health Department.
Date:
[1944]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

    12/16 (page 8)
    XI.—Maternity and Child Welfare As in the case of Government Institutions, shortage of nursing staff is a severe handicap. Mothercraft training and home visiting are reported to have suffered and the latter is probably largely responsible for the falling off of attendance at the.clinics by mothers and infants. Locally produced yeast and shark liver oil continue to be issued through the auspices of the Society and, in collaboration with the Poor Law Authorities, a large number of needy infants and toddlers has been receiving milk. Three qualified midwives are employed by Government. They made 2,586 visits and attended 475 confinements. XII.—Detainment Camp Health conditions in the Camp have been satisfactory during the year. There has been no epidemic. Anti-malarial measures in and around the Camp have markedly reduced the number of cases of malaria. In 1944 there were 57 new cases as compared with 75 in 1943, 91 in 1942 and 566 (the first year in Mauritius) in 1941. The numbers of admissions to hospital on account of relapses in these four years were 421, 476, 670 and 1,172. Dysentery accounted for 81 admissions to hospital. Of these, 57 were amoebic, 18 bacillary and 6 undefined. Signs of deficiency of the vitamin B3 complex are still noted. Seven inmates presenting them in a more severe degree had to be admitted into hospital. In two other patients who showed a typical dermatitis, the condition was definitely pellagra. XIII.—Emergency Medical Service The emergency hospitals were closed down in November 1944. XIV.—General Bacteriological Laboratory.—Good work was performed at this institution. The number of specimen examined were— Medical division Chemical division ... 17,067 3,751 Prisons.—The general hygiene in the prisons has been maintained at its usual satisfactory standard. CONCLUSION My thanks are due to individual officers of the Department for their kind and active co-operation and assistance throughout the year. 1st June, 1945. A. RANKINE, Director, Medical and Health Department.