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36
DEATHS IN RELATION TO DISEASE.
A list of the causes of deaths, with the ages at which they occurred, will be
found in Table III. of the Ministry of Health series on page 70. This Table
also shows the distribution of deaths according to cause in the various registration
sub-districts.
I he following notes with regard to certain of the causes which contributed
most largely to the death rate may be of interest.
DIARRHŒAL DISEASES.
The total number of deaths registered as due to diarrhcea and enteritis
(inflammation of the bowels), was 21, equal to 0.19 per 1,000 of the population.
As a general rule, the majority of deaths from this cause occur among infants,
and in 1924, as a matter of fact, all those who died, with the exception of 3, were
less than 1 year of age.
In 1923 the deaths from diarrhceal diseases numbered 15, all the victims being
under one year of age with the exception of 2. In 1924, therefore, there was an
increase in the total, 18 being under 1 year of age.
In the report for the previous year reference was made to the remarkable
decline that has taken place in the number of deaths from this condition, and
though there is a slight rise in the figures for the present year, there is no reason
for regarding it as anything more than accidental. Whether the improvement is
due to improved sanitation or to a combination of this with other causes, improvement
in the milk supply for example, it need not be doubted but that these will
continue to operate, and that the present rise will not prove to be anything more
than merely temporary.
INFECTIOUS (COMMUNICABLE) DISEASES.
The number of deaths due to each of the diseases included in this group is
referred to when dealing specifically with the diseases under the heading " Prevalence
of and Control over Infectious Diseases." Excluding influenza (which
caused 40 deaths), the diseases contributing to the total of 80 deaths were—
diphtheria, 3; scarlet fever, 2; whooping cough, 3; enteric fever, 2; measles, 46;
erysipelas, 3; and, as already noted, diarrhcea, 21.
PHTHISIS AND OTHER TUBERCULOUS DISEASES.
The total deaths due to the diseases dealt with under this heading, viz.,
phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis or consumption of the lungs), tuberculous
meningitis, general tuberculosis, tabes mesenterica, and all conditions due to the
germ of consumption, numbered 121, which is higher by 6 than the figure 115 for
1923.
The great bulk of the 121 deaths, viz., 98, was due to phthisis.
Of the total number of deaths registered (1,436), the percentage due to
phthisis was 6.1, as against 7.7 in 1923. The age periods at which the deaths
occurred were: 5—15, 2 (2.0 per cent.); 15—25, 21 (21.4 per cent.); 25—45, 29
(29.6 per cent.); 45—65, 38 (38.8 per cent.); 65 and over, 8 (8.2 per cent.).
The subject of phthisis is further discussed in connection with the notification
and prevention of tuberculosis.
The following table gives the figures for each of the years from 1916. It
will be noted that though there have been occasional rises the tendency has all
the time been downwards. The reasons for this will be discussed later.