Annual report on the Medical Department / Straits Settlements.

  • Straits Settlements. Medical Department.
Date:
[1931]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Medical Department / Straits Settlements. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/148 (page 6)
    1931 may, however, be due in part to the awakening of the Chinese labourers to the advantages of a properly balanced nutrition, following the valuable educational and practical work being done in this field of research in the Biochemistry Laboratory of the King Edward VII College of Medicine. Pneumonia.—Pneumonia continues to be one of the most frequently recorded causes of death in the Straits Settlements, and accounted for 2,373 deaths compared with 2,343 in the previous year. It is possible that many deaths due to pneumonia escape recognition and are recorded as due to other causes owing to the large numbers of deaths which are certified after simple inspection of the body without an ante-mortem dia¬ gnosis of the disease. The large proportion of the deaths from pneumonia recorded in Singapore city is probably due mainly to the larger proportion of deaths in that citjr which have been certified by a registered medical practitioner after attendance on the deceased during his illness, thus ensuring greater accuracy of certification. Convulsions.—Seventeen per cent, of the total deaths in the Straits Settlements were recorded as due to convulsions. This is a cause of death commonly reported by the Police who report medically unattended deaths occurring in rural areas. Por this reason, little reliance can be placed upon the figures submitted under, this heading. 4,607 deaths were recorded in 1931 as due to convulsions against 5,136 in 1930. (c).—Dangerous Infectious Diseases Plague.—No case of Plague occurred in the Straits Settlements during the year. Cholera.—Six cases with 2 deaths were treated at the Quarantine Station, Pulau Jerejak. Small-pox.—There were 167 cases of which 4S proved fatal. Nearly all these cases occurred in Province Wellesley where sporadic cases were discovered at intervals throughout the year. Many of these were concealed cases in Malay villages and were brought to light with difficulty. An intensive vaccination campaign was carried out. The outbreak was completely under control at the end of the year. During the year 134,257 vaccinations Straits Settlements. The results were : — Perfect Modified Failed Not seen Cerehro-spinal fever.—There were 13 in the previous year. and revaccinations were performed in the ... 35,223 i,77i 2,401 ... 94,862 deaths in 1931 compared with 23 deaths (d).—Other Infectious Diseases Tuberculosis.—Pulmonary tuberculosis continues to present one of the chief problems calling for preventive and curative health measures in this country. The problem is one of the most difficult to solve and cannot be successfully dealt with by simple health measures alone. There can be little doubt that large numbers of the Asiatic population have not yet acquired a sufficiently high degree of immunity to the disease to escape infection, and that they lack the vital resistance which is necessary to withstand the ravages of the disease when it is once established. The disease in this country is found chiefly in adults, and is a common terminal cause of death in later life. In some cases, it runs a semi-acute course and proves rapidly fatal. One of the main obstacles to curative measures is the neglect of the poorer classes to seek treatment in the early stages of the disease and their reluctance to submit to prolonged hospital treat¬ ment. It is generally recognised that the most promising preventive measures lie along the line of the provision of better housing and living conditions and the maintenance of an adequate and proper nutritional regimen in the daily life of the masses. Steps have already been taken along these lines, and housing improvement schemes are in operation in Singapore and Malacca. These schemes aim at the eventual abolition of congested areas and the substitution of sanitary dwelling places for the present ill-lighted and ill-ventilated cubicles. Propaganda is carried out in schools, infant welfare clinics, dispensaries, etc. with a view to teaching the public how the disease can best be prevented. Special accommodation is now provided at the General Hospital, Singapore, for the treatment of early curable cases, and similar accommoda¬ tion w’ill be available in the new Hospitals at Penang and Malacca.