Medical and sanitary report / Government of the Gold Coast.

  • Gold Coast. Medical Department.
Date:
[1913]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Medical and sanitary report / Government of the Gold Coast. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    24/110 (page 24)
    EPIDEMIC DISEASES. (13) General. With the exception of an outbreak of small-pox in the Acldah district, in which 108 cases were treated, I am glad to be able to report that the Gold Coast and its Dependencies have been free from any serious outbreak of epidemic disease during the year. (14) Plague. No cases of plague have been diagnosed during the year. An outbreak of a disease said to resemble plague was reported at Tunga near Yeji in the Northern Territories during August; eleven cases with eight deaths occurred within ten days out of a total population of thirty. The Medical Officer visited the town and took smears from the three convalescents ; these proved negative when examined in Accra. No rats were caught. Energetic measures were taken and no further cases occurred. Preventive measures include encouragement in the trapping of rats and better attention to buildings. The education of the people as to the danger of rats forms part of the routine duty of the Sanitary Inspectors in house to house inspection. In spite of the best intentions on the part of the Sanitary Authorities, buildings have not had the attention paid to them that they should have had, owing to the lack of Building Inspectors. With the present staff it is not possible to exercise much control over buildings in course of construction. (15) Small-Pox and Vaccination. 163 cases of small-pox have been reported during the year with 23 deaths, as already indicated ; Addah accounted for 108 of these with 18 deaths. 16,436 successful vaccinations have been performed by Medical Officers, but there is no record as to the total number performed. At Coomassie, where there is a Vaccinator, there were 3,384 vaccinations performed, out of which 2,814 were successful. House to house visitations were made for the purpose of vaccination, and schools were also attended. Little or no objection to being vaccinated was experienced. No systematic vaccinations have been done in the large towns on the sea¬ board. In these towns there must be a large number of “ unprotected ” persons. It would seem to be good policy to arrange for regular vaccinations in these towns, in order to provide against a possible outbreak of the disease. In the Sanitation Beport for 1912 it was recommended that a special Medical Officer be appointed to each Province, whose duties would involve constant travelling for purposes of vaccination and the training of Native Vaccinators. So far nothing has been done in the matter. (16) Cholera. No case has been reported which would give rise to any suspicion of this disease being present. (17) Dysentery. The official returns give 853 cases of dysentery as having been treated during the year, with 36 deaths. The number of deaths registered under the Births and Deaths Ordinance in Accra from this disease was 143, or 17 per cent, of the total deaths regis¬ tered. Enquiry was made as to the probable cause, but no definite conclusion was reached. It is true that “fly nuisance ” is very marked in Accra, and it is