Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health / Nairobi Municipality.

  • Nairobi (Kenya). Public Health Department.
Date:
[1952]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health / Nairobi Municipality. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/146 page 9
    The order of this list is the same as in 1951, respiratory diseases amongst Africans, pneumonias, and tuberculosis being the most significant. Inexplicable is the sudden rise in significance of whooping cough, parti¬ cularly amongst the Africans. This is not a notifiable infectious disease so that incidence figures cannot be given. There were 26 deaths from whooping cough in 1951 and 131 in 1952; in both years the only deaths from whooping cough were amongst the African population. Prematurity is the main cause of deaths of infants under one month. 42% of Asian and 34% of African deaths were due to pre¬ maturity. These could well be reduced by increased mother and child welfare education. Of the deaths of infants from one month to one year, 37% of the Asians and 32% of the Africans were caused by pneumonia (broncho and lobar) and 27% of the Asian and 16% of the African by gastro-enteritis. Both these could probably be reduced by increased parental care and knowledge. Amongst the African population the low standard of living, in¬ adequate housing, poor diet and so on, undoubtedly play an extremely important part.
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