Report of the Medical Officer of Health / Municipality of Colombo.

  • Colombo (Sri Lanka). Public Health Department.
Date:
[1947]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Medical Officer of Health / Municipality of Colombo. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    8/22 (page 8)
    Pail closets and fly-breeding places are the principal sources of infection. It is in the crowded and insanitary wards, that is mostly in the slum areas, that most of the cases occur. The majority of the premises that are sewer drained are in the residential areas of the Town where obviously the general sanitary conditions are superior. The Council should therefore take up the work of sewer drainage on a more extensive scale than at present and bring to completion the sewerage of all premises within the City within the shortest space of time possible. The extension of the drainage system is one of the essential requirements in helping to bring about a reduction of the incidence of bowel diseases. The following figures are interesting. The number of assessed premises is approximately 58,300 and the number of drained premises is only 15,900 :— Enteric Fever, 1947. (a) Town cases ... ... ... 243 Fort cases ... ... ... — Extra-urban cases ... ... ... 441 (5) Total number of deaths... ... ... 213 Death-rate per 1,000 population ... ,.. 0*5 Death-rate per 1,000 population previous year ... 0*9 {c) Total number of deaths exclusive of deaths of non¬ residents in hospitals... ... ... 82 Corrected death-rate per 1,000 population ... 0*2 Corrected death-rate per 1,000 population previous year... 0*4 Continued Fever. The number of cases of continued fever was 60 against 103 the previous year. Preventive measures adopted were the same as in the case of enteric fever. Malaria. The total number of cases treated at the Municipal Free Dispensaries during the year was 3,449. The Mosquito Squad, which consists of 12 Overseers and 24 labourers dealt with 344 complaints. Number of premises visited ... ... 3,240 Number of actual breeding places attended to ... 7,484 Nowhere in the City were the carrier mosquito, the Anopheles Culicifacies, detected. Spraying with D. D, T. is done wherever it is found necessary. Continuous headway against household mosquitoes cannot be made even with a large and well trained staff in the absence of co-operation on the part of householders and this is lacking. Dysentery. 101 cases were registered as against 115 the previous year. The total number of deaths was as follows :— Number of Deaths from Dysentery. Number of deaths. Number of deaths corrected for non residents. Amoebic 41 — Bacillary 84 69 Other and unspecified forms ... 15 8 Total ... 140 77 The majority of the cases occurred in the Mutwal area. . Diarrhoea and Enteritis. The total number of deaths from this condition was 809 as against 873 the previous year. Corrected for non-residents the total number ©f deaths was 537 as against 385 the previous year. The crude and corrected death-rates were 2*2 and 1*0 per 1,000 population respectively. Bronchitis, 97 deaths from bronchitis were registered as against 108 the previous year,