Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health / City Council of Pretoria.

  • Pretoria (South Africa). Health Department.
Date:
[1955]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health / City Council of Pretoria. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    DIPHTHERIA: Local Cases .. . Imported Cases . European 56 (102) 53 (43) Non- European 33 (43) 88 (85) Total 89 (145) 141 (128) Local Cases: The non-European cases were 8 Eurafricans, 2 Asiatics and 23 Bantus. Seven of the cases died (4 Europeans, 2 Eurafricans and 1 Bantu). They had never been immunized. Ten of the cases were adults, 29 were scholars, and 50 were children of pre-school age. Seventy- six of the cases were removed to the Isolation Wards and 13 were isolated and treated at home. There were 5 secondary cases. Seventy-seven of the cases had never been immunized, and 12 had been immunized pre¬ viously but all had very mild attacks. For details of immunization against diphtheria, see the section dealing with Child Wel¬ fare Actvities. MENINGOCOCCAL MENINGITIS: Non- Europeans Europeans Total Local Cases. 2(7) 4(4) 6(11) Imported Cases. 2 (3) 9 (5) 11 (8) The non-European cases were 1 Eurafrican, 1 Asiatic and two Bantus. Two of the cases (1 European and 1 Asiatic) died. All were treated in our hospital. OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES NOTIFIED: LOCAL IMPORTED Non- Non- European European European European Erysipelas. 3 — 2 — Encephalitis. 5 — 1 1 Puerperal Fever. — — 2 6 Trachoma. — — — 1 Leprosy. — 1 — 2 Malaria. — — 4 1 NOTE.—All cases of malaria had contracted their infection outside Pretoria. INFECTIOUS DISEASES — HOSPITAL STATISTICS. TOTAL ADMISSIONS: (Figures for last year are given in brackets). Six hundred and seventeen (557) of which 405 (371) were Europeans and 212 (186) non-European patients were admitted. The area distribution was:— PRETORIA MUNICIPAL AREA OTHER AREAS Europeans Non-Europeans Europeans Non-Europeans 209 (234) 82 (58) 196 (137) 130 (128) DIPHTHERIA: Two hundred and nine (246) patients were admitted during the year, a figure far ex¬ ceeding the number of admissions for any other infectious disease, and yet diphtheria, unlike most other infections, is almost wholly preventable. PRETORIA Non- Europeans Europeans 52 (98) 38 (26) OTHER AREAS Non- Europeans Europeans 52 (37) 67 (85) Of the total number 91 per cent. (86 per cent.) were children under the age of ten years, and 68 per cent. (58 per cent.) were less than five years old.