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

  • Alberta. Department of Public Health.
Date:
[1951]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

    23/268 (page 21)
    1,252 host and drag ticks were recovered in 60 collections. Of these, 281 were host ticks taken from small wild animals and 971 were taken by drag. Most of the field work in 1951 was carried on in new territory and no positive reports on these specimens were submitted by the laboratory. There were 823 persons vaccinated against Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in 1951, 360 at Mayberries; 351 at Redcliff; 76 at Thelma—Elkwater; 16 at Medicine Hat; and 20 at Bow Island. One case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was recorded at Medicine Hat. The infection developed following a tick bite on a farm at Eastend, Saskatchewan. During the Sylvatic Plague survey, 138 collections were made from 1,089 animals, of which 1,050 were fleas and 28 tissue specimens. No specimens were found positive on laboratory examinations. No positive reports were submitted in connection with Tularaemia investigation in 1951. Fly and mosquito control is becoming an important part of the work of the Division of Entomology, as an increasing number of requests are being received from municipalities for assistance in the control of these insects pests. During the early spring of 1951, a fly control district, including the City of Lethbridge and nine towns and villages was established, with the assistance of funds made available under the Dominion-Provincial Health Grants and with the various municipal authorities participating in the ex¬ penditure required to carry on this work. The results of this ex¬ periment, details of which will be found in the report of the Division of Entomology, were encouraging. Educational work in regard to the prevention and control of insect-borne disease was carried on along the same general lines as in previous years by means of lectures, the showing of films and the distribution of literature. The assistance extended by the Department of National Health and Welfare in providing laboratory service which is essential in carrying on this work, is gratefully acknowledged. Diseases of the Heart and Circulatory System. Diseases of the heart accounted for 2,113 deaths in 1951, as compared with 2,046 in 1950. These 2,113 deaths represent 29.5 per cent of the total deaths from all causes reported for the year, giving a death rate of 224.8 per 100,000 population, as compared with 228.6 in 1950. Diseases of the arteries were reported as the cause of 129 deaths in 1951, as compared with 133 in 1950. As mentioned in pre¬ vious reports, the aging of our population is a factor in the increased number of deaths occurring from diseases of the heart and cir¬ culatory system. Periodic medical examination of children, as well as adults, would reveal many of these conditions in the early stages, when effective measures might be taken to deal with them. Early recognition and the prompt attention of skilled physicians would prevent much disability which is the result of diseases of the heart and circulatory system, and would prolong many lives. Here, as in so many of the degenerative diseases, “early” is the word. Cancer. In 1951, 1,065 deaths were registered as due to Cancer, as com¬ pared with 988 during the previous year. The death rate from