Annual report on the health and medical services of the state of Queensland.

  • Queensland. Department of Health.
Date:
[1957]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the health and medical services of the state of Queensland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    16/116 (page 12)
    In the Greater Brisbane area, total notifica¬ tions dropped from 1,252 in 1955-56 to 779 in 1956-57. Chief causes for the decline were bacillary dysentery (decrease of 140 notifica¬ tions), scarlet fever (112), infantile diarrhoea (101), poliomyelitis (58), tuberculosis (23), and rheumatic fever (23). Total notifications for the calender year declined from 3,002 in 1955 to 2,554 in 1956 for the whole State. Declines were greatest in notifications of scarlet fever (459 fewer), bacillary dysentery (102), polio¬ myelitis (68), infantile diarrhoea (49), diph¬ theria (48) and tuberculosis (40). It is probable that these figures reflect a genuine decline in the incidence in some of the diseases mentioned, though in others (e.g. scarlet fever, bacillary dysentery and infantile diarrhoea) the fall is only temporary. Total notifications from coun¬ try districts showed no decline compared with the total in 1955-56. The reported incidence of notifiable diseases is not a good index of the state of the public health—although it is a reliable measure of the incidence of any particular infectious disease. For instance, diphtheria notifications exceeded 2,000 cases annually twenty-five years ago, when immunisation first became popular in this State. The fall to about 20 cases each year now is indeed a dramatic example of the waxing and waning of a disease and of the effects of wide¬ spread active immunisation. Some may think that diphtheria is now so rare that active immunisation is not worth while. Recent out¬ breaks of diphtheria in certain areas in America regarded as having high immunisation rates are warnings that diphtheria can still spread if people become lax and do not bother to have their children immunised. Some comments on individual diseases are appended:— Ancylostomiasis.—Notified cases increased from 179 in 1955-56 to 381 in 1956-57. All except 11 were from country districts, and the great majority were aborigines living in the northern parts of the State who were diagnosed in the course of surveys. Hookworm infestation is easily diagnosed and is readily treated. The aborigine in a settlement changes his personal habits very slowly, and re-infestation is the rule. Until he can be taught to refrain from polluting the soil with infected faeces we must expect a high infestation rate in mission stations and settlements situated on sandy soil in high rainfall areas. Infantile Diarrhoea.—Notifications declined during the year, due probably ito the fact that no new species of infecting organism were intro¬ duced. Until washing of the hands after using the toilet becomes a universal habit we cannot expect any significant abatement in acute in¬ fective gastro-intestinal diseases. The installa¬ tion of hand-washing facilities in school lavatories and in public lavatories should be encouraged. Lead Poisoning.—The age distribution and the geographic location of 95 cases of lead poisoning notified over the last seven years is worth record¬ ing (Table IX). Fifty-nine notified cases were males, but male dominance of the notified cases is confined to persons more than 14 years of age, and most of these would have had excessive exposure to lead at work. Of 67 notified cases in children, 4 wTere less than 1 year of age, 24 were aged between one and 5 years, and 30 were between 5 and 10 years of age. Of the 95 cases, ony 15 were notified in the Greater Brisbane Area, but 50 cases came from Rockhampton city and the adjacent Livingstone Shire, where there has been marked public awareness of the risks of lead poisoning for several years. Many hundreds of samples of paint scrapings from homes in this area have been analysed, and results show very clearly the dangers of excess lead in paint. The figures afford justification (if any were needed) of this Department’s un¬ flinching opposition to lead paint in situations where children can have access to it. There is abundant evidence of the role played by lead in causing some types of chronic nephritis in chil¬ dren. As a result of an amendment of the Health Acts in 1955, it is now an offence to apply any paint containing lead to dwellings. It can be anticipated that other States and countries will soon follow suit. TABLE IX. Lead Poisoning. Showing Age Distribution and Geographic Distribution of 95 Cases. 1950-51. 1951-52. 1952-53. 1953-54. 1954-55. 1955-56. 1956-57. Totals. M. E. P. M. F. P. M. F. P. M. F. P. M. F. P. M. F. P. M. F. P. M. F. P. 0-1 years 2 2 1 1 2 3 1 4 1-4 years 1 1 4 4 3 3 6 2 5 7 3 2 5 1 1 9 15 24 5-9 years 1 1 i 2 3 1 1 2 4 4 8 8 6 14 2 2 17 13 30 10-14 years .. 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 4 . . i 1 5 4 9 15-29 years . . 1 1 1 1 2 1 . . 1 2 2 5 1 6 30-44 years . . 3 3 2 1 3 1 1 2 2 6 . . 6 14 1 15 45-59 . 1 1 1 1 3 3 4 1 5 60 and over .. 1 1 1 1 2 2 Totals 4 4 3 3 5 8 13 7 4 11 15 11 26 20 10 30 5 3 8 59 36 95 1. Metropolitan 2. Up State to Bunda- 3 . . 3 2 2 3 2 5 1 3 4 1 . . 1 10 5 15 berg 3. Up State to Broad- 2 2 1 1 4 2 6 2 2 1 1 7 5 12 sound 1 1 1 . . 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 2 5 4. Kockhampton and 8 13 8 21 Livingstone 1 . . 1 3 5 2 2 4 7 6 13 2 1 3 28 22 50 5. North Queensland 1 •• 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 4 1 5 1 1 2 11 2 13