Report of the Director of Medical Services / British Guiana.

  • British Guiana. Medical Department.
Date:
[1941]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Report of the Director of Medical Services / British Guiana. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    35. As in previous years, large quantities of quinine products were issued to Government Hospitals, dispensaries, departments, schools and mission stations. In addition large quantities of synthetic antimalarial specifics were used in the Public Hospitals. 36. Influenza.—31 cases were treated in Public Hospitals with 1 death. The deaths registered as due to this disease throughout the Colony were 19. 37. Tuberculosis (all Jor ms).—This disease, which was made notifiable in 1912, caused 238 deaths in the Colony with a death-rate per 1,000 of 0.67 as against 242 deaths and a death-rate per 1,000 of 0.70 for 1940. 38. Enteric Fever (including Typhoid and Para-Typhoid).—There were 352 cases with 86 deaths as compared with 464 cases and 94 deaths in 1940. 39. Chicken Pox.—There were 93 cases as compared with 221 cases in 1940. 40. Diphtheria.—There were 34 cases with 7 deaths compared with 35 cases and 5 deaths in 1940. 41. Puerperal Fever.—There were 13 cases during the year with 7 deaths as against 15 cases with 11 deaths in 1940. 42. Small Pox.—No cases of Small Pox occurred in the Colony during the year. The usual quarantine restrictions were maintained against non-convention countries. The number of vaccinations performed during the year was 6,206 as against 7,884 in 1940. 43. Trachoma.—There were 3 cases as compared with 14 cases in 1940. 44. Tetanus.—23 cases were treated in Public Hospitals with 9 deaths, com¬ pared with 41 cases and 22 deaths in 1940. 45. Yaws.—14 cases were treated in Public Hospitals, the same number as in 1940. There were no deaths. 20 cases were treated in the Out-patient Departments as against 22 in 1940, 46. Ankylostomiasis.—310 cases were treated in Public Hospitals with 2 deaths compared with 276 and 8 deaths in 1940. The deaths registered as due to this disease throughout the Colony were 7 as compared with 11 in 1940. 47. Yellow lever.—No cases of Yellow Fever have been known to occur in the Colony during the year, although protection tests have shown that it doubtless has existed recently in the interior of the Colony. A very few isolated cases of the jungle variety occurred in the Cuyuni valley of Venezuela and the authorities of Surinam, I understand, have been studying some suspicious cases which occurred in the upper Surinam valley. 48. The anti-aedcs (Yellow lever control) service.—This service is operated in co-operation with the Rockefeller Foundation which contributes $2,000 budget for office expenses, clerical assistance and emergency supplies during 1941 (raised to $3,000 for 1942) and the services of a staff member who acts as Chief Officer. The area under control has been extended up the Demerara river for a distance of about 11 miles above its mouth, and to Bartica at the junction of the Essequebo and Mazaruni rivers to His Majesty’s Penal Settlement on the Mazaruni river. The population of the area under control is 108,055. Censuses of the areas on the Esse¬ quebo and Mazaruni have not been completed, but the population is estimated at 3,900. The total comprises nearly one-third of the population of the Colony. On December 31, 1941, this service had 98 inspectors, 2 supervisors, 2 supervising inspectors, 10 chief inspectors and 2 temporary chief inspectors, in addition to 9 fish distributors and oilers, and a clerical staff of five. Expenditures amounted to a total of $38,776.72 plus $1,299.10 from the Rockefeller Foundation’s contribution. Stego- myia house indices vary from less than 1% to 5% in the various districts. The gutter squads are finding considerable breeding in roof gutters, and when these are all dis¬ covered it is likely that considerably lower indices will be speedily obtained. It has been easier to bring down the indices in the rural districts, than in Georgetown, which makes us hopeful that the same will be true for the rest of the Colony. The House index for Bartica and the Mazaruni Penal Settlement has reached less than 1% in a comparatively short time. In Georgetown the indices for “ all species ” and for aedes aegypti have been closely parallel, whereas in the outlying villages there has been a tendency for the former to increase slightly after periods of rain, which leads us to believe that in Georgetown, at least, culex mosquitoes will be eliminated along with aedes aegypti, which should have some effect on the incidence of filariasis. A maritime service inspects aircraft, boats, barges and other craft itf the Demerara estuary. It has been found that incidence of aedes breeding is on the whole much smaller than was expected. 49. Leprosy.—The number of new admissions to the Leprosy Hospital was 27. There were 14 new out-patients, making a total of 41 new cases discovered during the year. 50. At the end of 1941 there were 10 girls and 24 boys in the Bishop Galton