168. Deaths registered in 1955 numbered 19,080, 203 less than the total number of deaths registered in 1954. These figures give a crude death rate of 8.2 per thousand of population for 1955 as against a crude death rate of 8.5 per thousand in 1954. A death rate of 8.2 per thousand is phenomenally low for any population but until the exact population can be ascertained by census, it is impossible to give any satisfactory explanation.
169. Details of the principal causes of mortality are set out in the following table:
per thousand of births. The following table sets out the maternal mortality figures for the years 1953-1955 in detail:-
TABLE 16
Tutml
Dearbor inserçimtes mith pend CNGI berling
Abagor Ljung
Alaal Mortality Mate
Year
Live Dirtb
Skan Birth
Live woul Sul Birth
Rate NO. NE HER
1,000 birthw
HWLM No. of pere Jeutbur
No. of Jeatm
per
1,000
Leig
birth
Caumes of Death
TABLE 15
1953
Number of deaths
1954
1953
1954
75,544
1955
83.317
90,511
1.15€
[,341 $4,658
T6,702
74 0.56
↓
1,01
75 0.97
1口袋
1.20
3
105 1,34
1,250 91.76T 104 1.13
*
13, 10A 107 1,16
1955
Maligaunt acoplasms
---ཨཾ་པ་་ན༞-
952
1.000
1.190
Gastro-enteritis and colitis
2,645
2.690
2.264
Pacumonia (all forme)..
3,096
3,837
3.821
Premature births
B76
981
Tuberculosis of respiratory system
Tuberculonia (other forms)..........
1,974
2.052
912
1,925
905
224
170. There has been a slight drop in maternal mortality, the rate for 1955 being 1.16 per thousand deliveries as compared with a rate of 1.24 per thousand deliveries in 1954. There has been, however, an increase in the number of deaths due to toxaemia of pregnancy, 48 deaths being ascribed to this cause in 1955 as against 38 in 1954. The rate per thousand births of deaths from toxaemia of pregnancy for the last three years shows slow but steady increase. In 1953, 25 deaths were recorded and a rate of 0.3 per thousand births. In 1954, 38 deaths were due to toxaemia of pregnancy, giving a rate of 0.4 per thousand births, and in 1955, 48, giving a rate of 0.5
58
171. Provision is made in the Ordinance for the post registration of births. It has recently been ascertained that at least some 3% of known births are not registered within the first year of life. The majority of these are probably registered later under the provision mentioned above, but the statistical implication is that the number of births registered is not an accurate index of the actual number of children born in any one year. Indeed it has now been ascertained that quite an appreciable number of births are probably never registered and there is some reason to suspect that a certain number of deaths in the remoter rural areas, particularly of young children, are not registered also. These facts are disturbing but until it is possible to make a complete census of the population and provide more facilities for registration and stricter supervision, it will be impossible to produce accurate vital statistics for the Colony,
K. C. YEO,
Director of Medical & Health Services.
50
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