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Respiratory Diseases.—Influenza and infections of the
respiratory tract were more prevalent in 1937 than in the year
before. Deaths from bronchitis, pneumonia and other respiratory
diseases (excluding influenza) numbered 52 against 38 in 1936 and
the death rate from this cause was 0.89 per thousand population.
The deaths were equally divided between the sexes. Seven were
babies under 1 year of age and 15 children under 5 years.
Influenzal deaths totalled 19 as against 1 in the year before.
Inquests.—Inquests were held on 23 deaths which occurred
in the district, 13 of which were residents and 10 non-residents.
The verdicts were returned as follows:—
Natural Causes 9
Suicide 3
Accidental deaths 6
Misadventure 3
In accordance with medical evidence 2
Four of the total were due to road accidents, one of which was
a resident.
INFANT MORTALITY.
The number of children who died within one year of birth was
35, 19 being males and 16 females. This gives an infant mortality
of 40.0 per thousand live births, compared with 46.7 in the preceding
year, and with 58 for the country as a whole.
Three deaths of illegitimate children, all males, are included in
the total.
Neo-natal deaths, i.e., those occurring within one month of
birth numbered 20 which is approximately 57 per cent of the
total.
There were no deaths under one year from the common infectious
diseases—measles, whooping cough, etc., and none from diarrhoea.
Pneumonia accounted for 7, and the diseases peculiar to early
infancy, such as prematurity, congenital malformation, marasmus,
etc., for 23.
22