Sanitary Statistics of Native Colonial Schools and Hospitals — John Shaqi
Sanitary Statistics of Native Colonial Schools and HospitalsNightingale, Florence
History
Sanitary Statistics of Native Colonial Schools and Hospitals
Nightingale, Florence
Hospital buildings -- Sanitation -- Statistics
It is important to compare these death rates with those of children of
the same ages at home. But we have only the means of doing so for 5
years of age and onwards. The home rates are given in Table E., which
shows that from 5 to 10 the total mortality of both sexes is 9·2 per
1,000 at home. From 10 to 15 it is 5·3 per 1,000. Above 15 the home
mortality is 8·4 per 1,000. Making allowance for native children dying
at home, we shall be within the truth in assuming the mortality of
native children at school as double that of English children of the
same ages.
[Sidenote: Table G, p. 29.]
The next point of the inquiry is to ascertain the nature of the fatal
diseases. And here we find a remarkable difference in the returns from
different colonies. Thus out of 190 deaths in the Sierra Leone schools,
all except 8 are due to small pox, measles, and hooping cough, scarlet
fever, and other forms of fever.
In the Ceylon schools these same diseases, with the addition of
diarrhœa, dysentery, and cholera, give rise to 261 deaths out of a
total mortality of 341. In contrast with this great prevalence of
miasmatic diseases, the West Australian schools yield only 2 deaths
from children’s epidemics, out of a total mortality of 9.
In the Natal schools three children died of miasmatic diseases out of a
total mortality of 16, while in the Canadian schools there is only one
miasmatic death out of a total mortality of 27.
The adult natives at many of the colonies are considered specially
subject to tubercular diseases, more particularly consumption. This
class of diseases is indeed supposed to be a main cause of the gradual
decline and disappearance of uncivilized or semi-civilized races. {6}
The facts, as regards these colonial schools, are as follow:―
Amongst the Sierra Leone children there is only one death from
consumption and one from scrofula reported out of a total of 190
deaths. In the West Australian schools two of the nine deaths arose
from consumption. In the Natal schools there was one death from
consumption and one from scrofula out of 16 deaths. But there died
seven children of other chest diseases besides consumption. The Ceylon
schools yielded seven deaths from consumption, five from other chest
diseases, and one from scrofula, out of a total mortality of 341.
[Sidenote: Table S, p. 47.]
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