Annual report on the Medical Department, Brunei.

  • Brunei. Medical Department.
Date:
[1931]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Medical Department, Brunei. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/30 (page 2)
    IL—PUBLIC HEALTH Apart from Chicken-pox, which is endemic, no form of epidemic disease occurred during the year. The following are the monthly mortality figures for the past three years:— Months 1929 1980 1981 January . . . . 65 91 101 February . . 43 61 70 March . . 64 57 82 April . . 47 47 73 May . . 61 75 80 June . . 65 103 90 July . . 77 78 112 August . . 80 74 59 September . . 82 90 53 October . . . . 65 72 56 November . . 78 81 71 December . . 72 93 100 Total . . 799 922 947 This^ increase in the deaths is only apparent, the compulsory registration and means of enforcing it being the probable explanation. The following are the more important causes of death with their numbers for the year 1931. (a) General Diseases (1) Beri-beri.—Accounted for 25 as against 17 for 1930. (2) Convulsions.—One hundred and twentv-two are recorded as against 165 for. 1930. This is again the chief cause of Infantile deaths. But the accuracy of the registration is very far from reliable, as it must be remembered that most of the certification of deaths is done by non-medical men. (b) Infectious Diseases (1) PneuTYioniu. Six deaths recorded from this cause against 15 in 1930. (2) Tuberculosis.—Forty-five deaths recorded against 61 in f 930. Here again data are so unreliable as to be uncertain of the figures given. numher given has been arrived at after a due amount of discretion in the reading of the certifications.