Report of the Health Officer, Corporation of Madras Health Department.

  • Madras (India). Health Department.
Date:
[1955]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Health Officer, Corporation of Madras Health Department. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/232 (page 9)
    The incidence of small-pox for a period of ten years is given below : Year Attacks Deaths 1946 872 169 1947 128 20 1948 82 12 1949 1,045 171 1950 4,432 882 1951 2,348 449 1952 647 122 1953 517 96 1954 1,214 277 1955 167 28 Vital Statistics Statement No. IX in the Appendix givesXhe number of deaths recorded in each division during the year. Vaccinations and re-vaccinations performed during the year are given in a separate report. The number of small-pox cases isolated and treated during the year is given in the report of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Tondiarpet. Measles :—364 cases from Measles were registered in the city during the year. There was no death from it. 25 cases were admitted into the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Tondiarpet, during the year from the adjoining district of Chingleput and all of them were cured and discharged. Typhoid or Enteric Fever :—1,490 cases were notified during the year against 1,140 cases in the previous year. 155 cases of these proved fatal with a death rate of 0.10 per mille of the estimated population as compared with 201 deaths and a death rate of 0.13 per mille in the preceding year, the quin-quennial average being 0.15 per mille. The death rate for enteric fever for 1955 on the bassis of the number of excess of births over deaths was the same rate round. the year. Enteric fever is endemic and was prevalent in the city all the year The statement below furnishes the incidence during each quarter of Period City Cases admitted from the adjoining district of Attacks Deaths Attacks Deaths 1st quarter 433 45 83 9 2nd quarter 322 38 67 9 3rd quarter 325 29 93 6 4th quarter 410 43 92 3 Total: 1,490 155 335 27 Preventive measures such as disinfection and inoculation were promptly adopted in all notified cases. Notification of this disease by hospitals, nursing homes and private Medical Practitioners continued to be very poor. All the cases notified to this department have not bacteriologically proved positive cases. Some were clinical cases and some of them proved to be negative on subsequent verification by the Health Staff on receipt of the intimation slips. The response from the public to get themselves protected against the disease was also unsatisfactory. During the year, 13,175 persons were inoculated with anti-typhoid vaccine. H—2