Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 01.12.1938, Side 185

181
them. Ordinarj' epidemics such as measles, influenza and whooping
cough often proved fatal to large number of people. For instance
as a result of an epidemic of measles which raged in 1846 more than
2.000 people died or 35%0 of the whole population, and again in 1882
there died of the same disease about 1.700 people, or 24%0.
A New Era Begins.
Shortly before 1890 a definite improvement sets in at last after the
long and dangerous course of starvation and diseases of the Icelandic
nation, for the period of revival in both secular and spiritual matters
had begun a short time before. Since that time the pópulation has
steadily increased and during the subsequent 50 years the increase
amounted to about 70%, in spite of a continuously decreasing birthrate
(it is at present just below 20%o) and a considerable emigration to
America at one time. Hand in hand with iinproved economic con-
ditions, increased general education, improved housing conditions,
a better and more healthy standard of living and highly in-
creased cleanliness of the people, there has been a parallel progress
in all sanitary matters, not to forget the great importance of the inter-
vention of the authorities and the activities of doctors, midwives and
other sanitary officers in these matters. This progress even reflects in
the stature as well as in other physical appearance of the people.
Huring the times of its greatest degradation the nation had, because of
insufficient and unwholesome nourishment and other general environ-
nient of the young people, probably become short of stature and stunted,
but the last generations have recovered a great deal from this. If we
may believe such measurements as have been made, the Icelanders
have now become on the average the tallest of all the tall Scandinavian
peoples. The physical power of resistance of the nation as a whole
has increased to the same extent. Bad years due to volcanic eruptions
nnd ice, failure of the fisheries and the grass crops, even when more
than one of these calamities join forces, do not seem to have any con-
spicuous effect on the health and the increase of the people, nor have
íinancial depression and unemployment been more successful as yet.
Serious epidemics which pass all over the country do not even delay
the increase of the population for a time, not even the Spanish in-
fluenza in 1918, which, however, killed nearly 500 people. In the last
nieasles epidemic (1936) in this country, even though in some of the
rural districts there had been no measles for tens of years, only 50—60
persons died, which is greatly different from former times. The endemic
diseases which the Icelanders long had the very doubtful honour of
being linked up with and in numerous places were only known be-
cause of, viz. leprosy, hydatids and tetanus in young children, are
now definitely disappearing altogether. The tetanus disappeared long
ago, and leprosy and hydatids are practically past history. In 1898
when the leper hospital was built 220—230 cases of leprosy were
hnown in the country, but now only 20 odd are left, most of them old
people, and in all probability the disease will die out with them for
good. The hydatids w7as until recently one of the most frequent cases