Annual report of the Medical Department / North Borneo.

  • North Borneo. Medical Department.
Date:
[1953]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Department / North Borneo. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/76 (page 6)
    Yaws ; Year a : 1st Attendances : Admitted to Hospital * 1 1951 9 9 • 7,209 196 j • : 1952 : 6,674 : 155 : 13* Chronic Ulcer of the Skin. This condition remains one of the most common treated by outstation dressers. There were 16,992 first attendances, of which the bulk occurred at ’’unsuper- visedH stations (cf. 16,641 First Attendances in.1951)• 14. The Major Epidemic Diseases. There were no cases of the diseases which fall under this heading. During the year a vaccin¬ ation campaign was undertaken and special attention was paid to the coastal towns and to the labour forces of estates. Alto.ge.ther 54,045 vaccinations were performed. 15. Leprosy. Sulphetrone and parent-sulphone continue to give excellent results at the Leprosy Hospital at Berhala. Today one never sees, as formerly, large numbers of multiple sores. The absence of sores and the knowledge that every year a number of patients are discharged as cured has done much to raise the morale of sufferers from this disease. 16. Table VII. Comparative Table of Registered Deaths : 1947 : 1948 1949 : 1950 : 1951 0 • : 1952 9 O'1 • ■# Tuberculosis : : (all forms) i 286 : 445 • 0 • • 400 : 479' 1 548 393 ♦ • Dysentery and : : • 9 « • Diarrhoea : 194 : 237 251 : 337 ; 297 386 # •, Malaria (all forms): 556 ,» 574 649 i 765 i 778 • • 784 Pneumonia (all forms) 680 : 811 642 i 679 720 • • ' 731 Senility : 250 ; 312 308 ! 416 o 448 430 • • Total Registered ; : Deaths from all :5,126 :4,552 0 • • • • • 4,717 ;4,126 ;4,503 4,530 Causes : : • • • 4 17. Nutrition. It is very difficult to find a- suitable yard¬ stick by which to measure the nutritional state of the Colony. Year by year returns of frank deficiency disease are erratic, show¬ ing no trends and as a result few conclusions can be drawn. 18. There ...are individual groups in the population who by their habits, prejudices or laziness expose themselves to the likelihood of sub-clinical deficiency disease, for example some indigenous tribes convert good carbohydrate to alcohol which is consumed till a sodden drunkenness descends upon men, women and even their infants Taken by an large, however, North Borneo, being predominantly rural and with no land-hunger, probably has less malnutrition than many /other.