HIGH DEATH-RATE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19454, 13 October 1937, Page 8

HIGH DEATH-RATE

TUBERCULOSIS OASES PROBLEM IN DOMINION PREVALENCE WITH MAORI The extent to which tuberculosis is receiving the unflagging attention of health officers throughout New Zealand is shown by the amount of space devoted to this disease in the annual report of the Director-General 0/ Health, Dr. M. H. Watt, and his officers. Last year a marked rise occurred in the death-rate from tuber CUlOsis, the figure advancing from 3.88 per 10,000 in 1935, the lowest eve; recorded in New Zealand, to 4.56. Until 1935, the last year for which a complete index is available, there was a continuous downward movement oi the death-rate for both sexes at various ages, although from 1909 until 1928 there was a definite failure of the young adult woman from the age of 20 to 25 to participate in the improvement. The death-rate for this group, however, showed a fall for the period .1929-33 and for 1934-35. The figures show that for women the average yearly number of deaths from tuberculosis are greatest per 10,000 of population, in the following age-groups—--20-25, 6.5; 25-30, 5.2; 30-35, 6.5. For men the following age-groups have the highest death-rates per 10,000:—35-40, 5.6; 40-45, 5.9; 45-50, 5.5; 50-55, 5.2; 55-60, 0.4; 60-05, 6.5; 65-70, 8.5. Pulmonary Types Pulmonary tuberculosis accounts for by far the largest proportion of deaths. In 1933 deaths from this type numbered 3.24 per 10,000 of population. Other forms of the disease accounting for .92; in 1934 the figures were 3.32 and 188 respectively, and in 1935 they were 3.17 and .71. Tuberculosis of the respiratory system took sixth place in the principal causes of death in 1935, ranking after heart disease, cancer, cerebral hemorrhage and apoplexy, ! accidents and nephritis in that order. Of the. 576 deaths from tuberculosis in 1935, a total of 471 was assigned to pulmonary tuberculosis and 105 to other forms of the disease. The report states that although very

little investigation of the type of bacillus responsible for cases of tuberculosis other than pulmonary has been carried out in New Zealand, the small amount of information available points to approximately 80 per cent of the cases from this form being due to human type and 20 per cent to bovine type of bacillus. High Rate Maoris Routine examinations of school children in 1935 resulted in the discovery that the percentage of all forms of tuberculosis was .06 for European children and .46 for Maori children. At all ages the Maori showed undue susceptibility to infection by the tubercle bacillus. The following table shows the tuberculosis death-rate per 10,000 of population for the Maori and European population from 1930 to 1935

During the past few years the services for the prevention and cure of disease among the Maoris are stated to have been definitely strengthened, but it still appears that there is too much neglect of hygienic principles and all too much sickness. The problem is considered economic as well as medico-hygienic and the report states that until the Maori is better housed and becomes self-supporting educative methods are largely doomed to failure.

Maoris Europeans 1930 .. .. 34.03 4.55 1931 .. .. 36.63 4.27 1932 .. .. 41.65 4.22 1933 .. .. 36.20 4.16 1934 .. .. 40.25 4.20 1935 .. .. 40.26 3.88