Report on the public health administration of the Punjab.

  • Punjab (India). Public Health Department.
Date:
[1935]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on the public health administration of the Punjab. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    24/220 (page 16)
    From the above it will be evident that while in urban areas infection persisted for reasons incapable of immediate eradication in the rural areas the incidence of infection repeatedly imported was reduced to the very minimum. The total number of anti-cholera inoculations performed during the year was 60,150 as against 22,091 in the previous year. 20. Smallpox.—The number of deaths reported from smallpox rose from 1,692 in 1984 to 1,822 in 1935 showing an increase of 130 deaths when compared with the figures of the last year, although the death rate calculated on the estimated population was the same (0-07) as in the preceding year and 0-47 in the year 1933. The disease maintained its lowest ebb reached last year and the inconsequential rise was confined to the urban areas only. In fact its incidence in rural areas was lower than that of last year. The mortalitv Ij V rate was 0*08 per mille as against 0-07 in the last year and 0-28 for the pre¬ ceding five years. The maximum mortality occurred in the month of May with 307 deaths followed by June 272, December 258 and July 162. The lowest figures were recorded in the months of October 53, September 55, August 81, March 113, January 118 and February 125. Among districts the highest death-rate was recorded in Ludhiana 0*26, Hissar coming next with 0*25, Ferozepore 0-23, Rohtak and Simla 0-20 each, Lahore 0 -16, Hoshiarpur 0 * 15, Karnal 0• 12, Gurgaon O il, Ambala and Amritsar 0-08 each. In the remaining districts it was below the provincial rate 0*08. The lowest rate recorded was 0-002 in Lyallpur district, while Dera Ghazi Khan remained free of infection throughout the year. Of the deaths registered from smallpox 581 occurred among children under one year of age and 887 in the group 1—10 years as against 514 and 740, respectively, in the preceding year. The proportion of male to female deaths was 0*08 in each case, the corresponding rates being 0-07 each in the year 1934. In urban areas death-rate from smallpox was 0*18 as compared with 0-06 in rural areas. Of 177 towns 119 escaped the disease and in the remaining a total of 524 deaths was registered as against 191 in the previous year. The five districts (rural circles) showing the highest death-rates were Ferozepore 0-25, Hissar 0*24, Hoshiarpur 0-15, Rohtak 0*14 and Karnal 0*12. The death-rate from smallpox was highest in Raikot 2-29 followed by Ballabgarh 1*44, Ichhra 1*39, Hansi 1 -36 and Gurdaspur 1 -35. Among the largest towns of the Province Lahore headed the list this year with a death-rate of 0-30, Amritsar coming next with 0-05, Multan re¬ mained free from smallpox throughout the year. The corresponding figures for the previous year for these three towns were 0-08, 0*01 and 0-01, res¬ pectively. The progress made in vaccination is detailed in chapter IV but the fact that about 48 per cent, of deaths occurred in children over 1 year of age and under 10 years strongly urges the necessity and importance of carrying out re-vaccination between the ages of 7—-10 years for which purpose vigorous propaganda is being done. The need for Infectious Diseases Hospitals for the isolation and treatment of smallpox cases in all large cities of the Province is being felt and it is hoped that in the near future most of the large cities of the Province will be provided with properly staffed and equipped Infectious Diseases Hospitals. 21. Plague.—During the year under report there were 1,085 deaths from plague in the Province (976 in British Districts and 109 in Indian States) as compared with 8,240 in the preceding year. The incidence of infection was one of the lowest on record. Although our neighbours the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh registered as high as 23,031 deaths and Central Provinces 2,802, the gloomy forebodings of the last year failed to materialise in this Pro¬ vince. A very intensive campaign of off-season deratting operations and cleansing of the infected and suspected villages had been carried out last year and no effort was spared to suppress the very first manifestation of infection with inoculations on an intensive scale, reduction in rat infestation and disinfection to destroy fleas. It appears that the rising wave of recrudescence aborted and fell flat.