Annual report of the Medical Health Officer / City of Winnipeg.

  • Winnipeg (Man.). Health Department.
Date:
[1963]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Health Officer / City of Winnipeg. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    3/128
    Winnipeg, 1963, Chairman and Members, Committee on Public Health and Welfare, Madam and Gentlemen I have the honour to present the annual report and the financial statement of the Health Department for the year 1963, Essentially the year was a healthy one for the citizens of Winnipeg with no major outbreaks of any serious disease and a progressive year for all concerned. The birth rate dropped to 22,8 per thousand population, which is the lowest recorded since 1952, As expected heart diseases and cancer con¬ tinue to be the leading causes of death with cancer of the lung now being the leading cause of death in males for all forms of cancer. Three cases of diphtheria were recorded with no deaths, com¬ pared to eight cases and two deaths in 1962. These three cases were the tag- end of an outbreak which was experienced late in 1962, The incidence of infectious hepatitis remains approximately the same as in 1962 with 134 cases reported. This is a considerable improve¬ ment in the experience with the incidence of this disease since 1959., Four outbreaks of food poisoning occurred involving several hundred people but fortunately there were no severe sequelae. Private caterers were involved in three of these outbreaks and it is anticipated that in the near future some legislation will be enacted which will require private cater¬ ers to have some knowledge of hygienic measures required for the preparation, storage and serving of foodstuffs before a licence is granted. Another year has now passed in which no cases of poliomyelitis occurred. It is expected that a second mass feeding of the Sabin oral polio vaccine will be conducted in the Spring of 1964, Although eighty-nine cases of scarlet fever were reported from one section of the City, an epidemiological investigation of this situation indicated that this disease was more likely to be a relatively new clinical entity -- Fifth Disease, This is a self-limiting disease with no serious complications, There was an increase in both the number of deaths from tuber¬ culosis as well as in the number of new cases discovered. The majority of these new cases of active tuberculosis occurred in the 60-year-and-over age group. An active campaign to uncover new cases was continued in collaboration with the Manitoba Sanatorium Board. The Child Dental Services continue to expand and one additional dental clinic was established in the David Livingston School, The tremendous advantage to a fluoridated water supply in reducing dental caries in children is depicted in the tables of the Dental Division.