Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 01.12.1937, Síða 173
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The care of infants inay be said to be fairly good and a great
majority of the children are breast-fed. The midwives have made out
a report (lable XII) concerning 2301 infants born during the year
(out of 2393 births). In 2207 cases the nutrition of the infants after
birth is reported as follows (Reykjavík figures in brackets):
86,7% (97,4%)
5.6— ( 0,8—)
7.7— ( 1,8—)
Breast-fed ............
Breast- and bottle-fed
Bottle-fed only .......
14. Sanitary officials and workers. (See table I). The total number
of trained medical men in Iceland was 142 in 1937. There are 49
medical districts, and as a rule they are all filled. The number of
midwives holding appointments is 205, while the number of districts
is 207. Trained nurses do little service outside hospitals. Dentists are
very few. Trained dispensing chemists are on'iy in the larger towns,
in villages and in the country the district medical officers have a
small drug store.
15. General Insurance. The National Insurance Act from 1936
covers besides diseases: accident, disablement and old age insurance.
In all urban districts insurance against loss of health is obligatory
for persons, whose annual income does not exceed a fixed minimum,
in rural districts the parish councils may, after a general vote has
been taken, adopt compulsory insurance. 25,4% of the population
are now insured under the National Insurance Act.
16. Food and Nutrition. Public inspection of food has taken place
in this country since 1936, when the Food Adulteration Act came
into force. This Act provides comprehensive control of all articles of
food and other nutritients. This inspection is in the hands of the
District Medical Officers of Health and the Sanitary Committees, in
co-operation with the local Police Authorities and under the super-
vision of a special Sanitary Officer in Reykjavík (the capital). The
chemical analysis work is done at the Public Chemical Analysis In-
stitute in Reykjavík. 161 samples of food were submitted for ana-
lysis in 1936, out of which number 23 were found to be not up to
the standard (20,5 %), while in 1937 the corresponding figures were
539, 98 and 18,2% respectively.
17. Hospitals, large and small, have in 1937 reached the number
of 45 in the whole country, with 1157 beds, or 9,8 beds per 1000 in-
habitants, 37 of this number are general hospitals, with 658 beds, or
5,&%0. In the tuberculosis sanatoria there are 284 beds, or about 2,4%c.
Of other special hosjiitals may be mentioned: 1 lunatic asylum, 1
leprosarium and 1 small epidemic hospital in Reykjavík. The sick-days
in hospitals amounted to 3,5 jier head in the whole country while in
the general hospitals the figure was 1,8, and in the sanatoria 0,93.
Added lo this there is always a large number of tuberculosis jiatients
in the general hosjiitals (cf. also tables XVI—XVII).