Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 01.12.1961, Side 179

— 177 —
1961
1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
Deaths by Suicide .... 14 9 11 13 19
Deaths by other Violence 65 77 121 63 86
The distribution of deaths by accidents is shown on pp. 72—73.
15. Care of lnfants may be said to be fairly good, the great majority
of the children being breast-fed at least for the first weeks. The midwives
have made out a report (table XIII) concerning 4540 infants born during
the year. Reports on the nutrition of infants were submitted in 4405
cases which accordingly were grouped as foilows (Reykjavík figures in
brackets):
Breast-fed ............................. 82.8 p.c. (86.3 p.c.)
Breast- and bottle-fed ................. 13.2 — (11.9 — )
Bottle-fed only.......................... 4.0 — (1.8 — )
16. Health Officials and Auxiliarij Personnel (cf. table I). The total
number of licensed medical men in Iceland was 293 in 1961. There are
57 medical districts. The number of midwives holding appointments is
129, while the number of districts is about 200. Trained nurses do little
service outside hospitals and institutions. Dentists are few (51 working
in the whole country). Trained dispensing chemists are only in the larger
towns, in villages and in the country the district medical officers have
a small drug store.
17. General Insurance. The National Insurance Act of 1936 (amended
several times) covers besides diseases: accident, disablement and old age
insurance, sickness insurance being obligatory for the whole country
since 1 October 1951. At the end of the year 105440 persons were registered
insured under the National Insurance Act, organized in 224 sickness-
benefit societies, children under 16 years being insured with their parents
or foster-parents.
18. 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 for comprehensive control of all articles of
food and other nutrients. This inspection is in the hands of the district
niedical officers of health and the sanitary committees, in co-operation
■with the local police authorities. The chemical analysis work is done at
the public Chemical Analysis Institute in Reykjavik.
19. Hospitals, large and small, in 1961 numbered 39 in the whole
country, with 1740 beds, or 9.7 beds per 1000 inhabitants, 34 of this
number being general hospitals, with 1253 beds (7.0 per 1000). In the
tuberculosis sanatoria there are 188 beds (about 1.05 per 1000). Of
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