Annual medical and sanitary report / Trengganu.

  • Terengganu. Medical Department.
Date:
[1935]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual medical and sanitary report / Trengganu. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/38 (page 7)
    (2) BOWEL DISEASES. 264 (274) deaths were reported to have been due to bowel diseases. Dysentery.—It is remarkable that dysentery is not more prevalent considering the extremely unhygienic state of affairs with regard to conservancy in areas where the water-table is very high and shallow, unprotected wells form the water-supply; the filtering action of the soil which is very sandy on the coast doubtless plays a great part. With the exception of two small out-breaks reported from the Bundi Mine in which 16 people were concerned (1 death) there was no epidemic although a number of sporadic cases occurred throughout the State. Twenty-six (29) cases were treated in the hospital of which six (25) were amoebic and there were four (6) deaths. One hundred and forty-seven (167) were treated as out-patients of which forty-eight (84) were amoebic. Diarrhoea and Enteritis.—Six hundred and fifty eight (627) cases were treated. Helminthic infections.—These are extraordinarily prevalent. School inspection at Kuala Trengganu showed that over 90% of the children had signs of worms while 84.30% (83.90) of all specimens of stool examined at the laboratory had some kind of helminthic infection which was usually multiple (microscopic film method); of these cases, the common parasites were anky- lostoma—24.39% (29.11), ascaris 92.21% (70.13) and trichocephalus dispar 75.01% (58.05). Microscopical work at the out-stations showed that 76.64% (77.82) of the specimens examined were positive; here too, ascaris was found to be much commoner than ankylostoma. Occasional cases of distoma infection such as Clonorchis sinensis occur but no case has been seen for over two years while no case of tape-worm has yet been found. Free treatment of cases is the only practicable measure at present and the number so treated rose from 11,080 in 1934 to 15,484 in 1935. Enteric fever—V. I. (3) DANGEROUS INFECTIOUS DISEASES. There were two out-breaks of small-pox during May. The first occurred at Chukai, Kemaman among the Tamil lighter coolies employed by the Ishihara Sangyo Koshi, an iron mining company. There were four cases in all with one death. The infection had been introduced by a new arrival from Singapore where there was a small epidemic. The second out-break was discovered shortly afterwards in a village near the main road to Kuala Brang about sixteen miles from Kuala Trengganu and here also there were four cases with one death. Enquiry did not shed any light on the source. Measures were at once taken to check these out-breaks while all passengers disembarking from Singapore were vaccinated unless they could produce certificates of recent vaccination until the epidemic there abated. The result was that 15,711 vaccinations were performed as compared with 9,146 in 1934. The total was made up as follows:— 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Total . 15,711 Vaccinator, Besut • • • • ■ • 3,200 Dresser, Kampong Buloh .. .. .. .. 135 Vaccinator, Kuala Trengganu 5,271 Hospital, Kuala Trengganu . . . . . . 345 Town Dispensary, Kuala Trengganu 584 Travelling Dresser, Kuala Trengganu 256 Dresser, Kuala Brang .. . . . . .. 123 Vaccinator, Kuala Dungun 2,449 Dresser, Kemasek . . . . • ■ • • 22 Vaccinator, Kemaman 2,795 Dresser, Kemaman • . • • 441 (4) OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES. No case of tsutsugamushi fever or leptospirosis has yet been diagnosed in Trengganu. Three cases of tropical typhus, however, occurred which were the first cases of this disease to have been discovered. Diagnosis has been greatly facilitated by the introduction of the Weil-Felix test. Two of the cases came from Ulu Dungun and one of them died. The other case was a patient who had recently been in Ulu Dungun but as he had also been in Ulu Tembeling, Pahang it was unpossible to sav where the disease had been contracted.