Annual report of the Department of Public Health, Province of Alberta.

  • Alberta. Department of Public Health.
Date:
[1953]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Department of Public Health, Province of Alberta. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/298 (page 17)
    Vital Statistics Vital Statistics registered during the year are as follows: Births . 31,376 Marriages . 10,126 Deaths . 7,646 In all cases where rates are shown, such rates are based on a population of 1,002,000, this being the estimated population figure for 1953. In the following table, the number of births and the birth rate, the number of marriages and the marriage rate, and the number of deaths and the death rate are shown for each of the years from 1948 to 1953: No. of Birth No. of Marriage No. of Death Year Births Rate Marriages Rate Deaths Rate 1948 . 24,075 28.50 8,844 10.50 6,987 8.30 1949 24,935 28.70 9,037 10.40 7,083 8.20 1950 . 25,625 28.70 9,294 10.40 6,856 7.70 1951 27,003 28.70 9,305 9.90 7,167 7.60 1952 . 29,105 30.00 9,514 9.80 7.345 7.60 1953 . 31,376 31.30 10,126 10.10 7,646 7.60 The birth rate for 1953 is 31.3 as compared with 30.0 for 1952. The marriage rate for 1953 is 10.1 as compared with 9,8 for 1952. The death rate for 1953 is 7.6, the same rate as for the previous year. The general death rate in Alberta at 7.6 per thousand can be considered good. There have, however, been some changes in the causes of death which call for thought. A study of the list of causes of death for 1953 shows that tuberculosis is no longer in the first ten causes of death. This disease is far from finished but one can now dream of its eventual elimination. In 1952 poliomyelitis first appeared among the first ten by taking tenth place with 79 deaths. In 1953 it has superseded tuberculosis, suicides and diabetes mellitus to reach seventh place with a total of 108 deaths. The big three still retain their position with diseases of the heart, cancer and cerebral homorrhage in first, second and third place. However, the death rate for these three is down slightly. In maternal deaths (0.7) and infant deaths (30) Alberta has a better than average rate in Canada. However, better infant death rates exist in other countries to show that our job is incomplete. More detailed information is available in the report of the Vital Statistics Division. General Health Conditions For two years Alberta has failed to make a gain in the general death rate, the 1951, 1952 and 1953 rates being identical at 7.6 per thousand. With the increasing number of older people in Alberta, it is quite possible that we are reaching the stage where a continued drop in death rate cannot be achieved. During 1952 and 1953 Alberta has had the two worst epidemics of poliomyelitis in its history. No explanation has been found for the occurrence of two major epidemic years in a row nor has any explanation been found for the unusual incidence of cases during November and December, 1953, and extending over into January and February of 1954. This high incidence of poliomyelitis has made it the major communicable disease in place of tuberculosis. It has replaced this disease as a cause of death and as a cause of permanent disability and has placed a heavy burden on the hospital services under The Poliomyelitis Act. During the 1953 epidemic gamma globulin was used extensively