Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 01.12.1929, Page 137

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the sick and giving thein treatment in hospitals and sanatoria. Noti-
t'ied cases of ttiherculosis have increased during the last years, partlv
110 douht owing to a more precise notification. This year however,
shows a slight decrease (cf. tables V, VI and VIII):
1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
f’ulinonary tí)l 452 527 571 725 586 771 737 538
Non-pulmonary 254 304 341 325 375 425 429 489 457
Total Numb. ot' Notified Cases 745 756 868 896 1100 1011 1200 1226 995
tleaths 182 172 163 197 215 183 203 211 214
The notification is douhtless very defective and gives no true picture
of the situation. Probahly the registered numher of deaths is fairlv
reliahle, and to judge from that the disease is stiil at its maximum.
Deaths from tuberculosis may be specified as follows (last year’s fi-
gures in round hrackets): Pulmonary tuberculosis 151 (140), uni-
versal tuberculosis 6 (8), scropulosis 1 (1), tuberculosis of bones and
joints 5 (5), meningeal tuberculosis 3(5 (44), abdominal tuberulosis
9 (7), tuberculosis of the urinary and generative organs 3 (3), other
organs 3 (3).
One of the district physicians, Dr. Arni Arnason, has in 1929—•
1930 made a fairly thorough investigation of the spread of tuber-
culosis in his district, which is a small out of the way district with
866 inhabitants. He gives an account of this investigation in an article
which is published as chapter III of this book. A register of tuber-
culosis in the district had been kept for the last 25 years. Out of 76
farms 46 had been visited by the disease during the whole period of
25 years; 29 the last 15 years and 13 the last 5 years. In spite of this
spread of the disease Pirquet-examination of nearly all inhabitants
of the district has shown, that thc number of non-infected is compara-
tively large at every age; the number of infected adults was 40—60%.
The number of infected children and young people of the adolescent
nge was comparativelv small, or below 25%. The most sig'nificant fact
is, that in nearly all parts of tbe district children under 5 years are as
a rule not infected. According to Dr. Arnason infection of adults ap-
pears to be very common; such adults as have escaped infection catc.h
the disease when opportunity occurs. When the article was written a
tuberculosis examination of the cattle in this district was nearly fin-
ished, and this examination proved that only two cows in the whole
district were tuberculous. This explains to some extent the infre-
quency of child infection.
7. Leprosy is steadily decreasing, as may be seen from the following
survey for i921 — 1929:
1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
Patients in the Leprosarium at Laugarnes 44 43 42 40 38 36 34 32 27
batients Outside Hospital .... 19 20 14 14 12 14 10 9 11
Total Number of Patients .... 63 63 56 54 50 50 44 41 39
New cases are extremely rare.
8. Hydatide disease, which formerly won for Iceland such a doubt-
ful reputation is vanishing by degrees, though we might be quicker