Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 01.12.1954, Page 221

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1954
Communicable diseases not yet
endemic in the country, measles,
mumps, German measles, whooping
cough and influenza (though perhaps
not genuine) were of some conse-
quence during the year, as they
occurred contemporaneously, but
none of them was particulary noxious.
Paratyphoid, most likely of foreign
origin, spread amongst the clients of
a milkproducing farmer in the neigh-
bourhood of Reykjavík, one of the
farmer’s cows being found infected;
radical sanitary measures were app-
lied and the epidemic was quickly
checked. On the whole the nation’s
health was fairly satisfactory as indi-
cated by the exceptionally low death
rate.
5. Venereal Diseases. Notified cases
in the years 1950—1954 are as follows
(cf, tables V, VI and VII, 1—3):
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
Gonorrhoea 208 220 246 272 476
S.vphilis 37 25 12 8 7
Soft Chancre 1 1 „ 4 „
6. Tuberculosis (all forms). Patients
registered by the medical officers at
the end of each year (cf. tables V, VI,
VIII, IX and XI):
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
Pulmonary 841 810 853 836 752
Non-pulmonary 155 146 159 162 130
Total Number of
Notified Cases 996 956 1012 998 882
Deaths 29 31 20 14 10
Deaths from tuberculosis this year
are easily classified (last year’s fi-
fe'ures in round brackets) : Pulmonary
tuberculosis 10 (8), meningeal tuber-
culosis 0 (3), tuberculosis of the
urinary and generative organs 0 (3).
During the last two decades death
from tuberculosis in Iceland has been
almost steadily decreasing, yet, with
a relative stand-still during the war,
and during the last years the fall of the
tuberculosis death rate is truly adven-
turous. In 1930 232 died from tuber-
culosis in Iceland (2.16 per 1000 of
the population), 1939: 94 (0.79 per
1000), 1945: 88 (0.68 per 1000), 1947:
71 (0.53 per 1000), 1948: 47 (0.34 per
1000), 1949: 36 (0.26 per 1000), 1950:
29 (0.20 per 1000), 1951: 31 (0.21 per
1000), 1952: 20 (0.14 per 1000), 1953:
14 (0.09 per 1000), 1954: 10 (0.06 per
1000).
7. Leprosy. Patients known in the
whole country at the end of each year
(cf. tables V—VI):
I’atients 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
in Leprosarium 8 9 7 7 6
Patients
outside Hospital 3 3 2 2 2
Total Number
of Patients 11 12 9 9 8
The last leprosy case was met with
1951, the only one since 1934. The
new patient, a woman 58 years old,
had lived with leprotics in her early
childhood, and again some 20 years
ago.
8. Hydatid Disease (cf. tables V
and VI).
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
Number of Patients 8 6 13 4
Deaths 4 3 2 3 ,,
These figures are based upon month-
ly reports from physicians, but in
the annual report on the disease,
which comprises all medical districts
in this country, 8 cases are reported,
most of them very old people, perhaps
only with some or other remains of
the disease.
9. Scabies (cf. tables V, VI and
VII, 4).
Number 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
of Patients 212 220 240 177 301
10. Cancer (cf. tables V and VI).
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
Number of Patients 71 77 71 65 86
Ileaths 204 213 215 211 198
In addition to the monthly reports
from district medical officers, on
which the above survey is based,
medical officers in all districts have