Report on the public health / Southern Rhodesia.

  • Southern Rhodesia. Department of Health.
Date:
[1933]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on the public health / Southern Rhodesia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    9/44 (page 3)
    1. Malaria and Blackwater Fever.—Malaria and blackwater fever head the list of causes of death in 1933. This most important public health problem is considered in detail under the section dealing with malaria, Chapter' II. 2. Violence.—Death from violence commonly ranks high in young countries. The two deaths from motor accidents give a satisfactorily low proportion when compared with countries such as England. 3. Cancer.—Cancer occupies the second place among diseases as a cause of death; the position is the same in England. 4. Heart Diseases.—Heart diseases, which in England head the list of causes of death, come fourth in Southern Rhodesia, a country with a younger population. 5. Pneumonia and Bronchitis.—-Pneumonia is responsible for a propor¬ tion of deaths in Southern Rhodesia very smiliar to that of England. Unfor¬ tunately, we know of no means of reducing its incidence among the European population. 6. Tuberculosis.—Tuberculosis is again seventh on the list of disease causing death, while in England it occupes the fifth place. It is generally considered that patients suffering from tuberculosis do well in the Colony, and this is borne out by our statistics over a long period of years. The absence of bovine disease is also an important asset. 4. Infant Mortality. There were 61 deaths of' European infants under one year of age, corres¬ ponding to an infant mortality rate of 55 per 1,000 births—the same as last year. In addition 31 still births were registered. The fact that in Southern Rhodesia this rate is much lower than that of either the Union of South Africa or England and Wales is a strong indication of the healthiness of the Colony as a place for European residence. European Infant Mortality Bates, 1921-33. 1921-30 (average) ... Southern Rhodesia. 63 Union of South Africa. 70 England and Wales. 72 1930 . 45 67 60 1931 . 45 63 66 1932 . 55 69 65 1933 . 55 Not available 64 Nevertheless a study of the causes of infant deaths as given in the table below will demonstrate clearly that these causes are in many cases preventable and that our infant mortality rate is still too high. The reduction' of the infant mortality rate of New Zealand to around 30 per 1,000 births is not due altogether to climatic or social conditions, and the work done by that Dominion in connection with maternity and child welfare selves as a brilliant example. European Infant Deaths, Table J. Causes of Death, 1924-33. Disease. Premature birth and diseases of early infancy Bronchitis and pneumonia . Diarrhoea and enteritis . Malaria . Measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, dysentery . Various, not classified above . of deaths. Percentage. 246 40.26 80 13.09 73 11.95 53 8.67 40 6.55 119 19.48