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10 The Health Bulletin September, 1947 1946. This was a tremendous decrease, from a percentage standpoint. Diphtheria is preventable; immunization during the first year of life now is required by law, and when and if there is general observance of this law, diphtheria will be a thing of the past in North Carolina, except in rare instances. There are exception to all human rules, of course. During the period under consideration, there was not a single death from malaria reported anywhere in the State, as compared with 4 during the corresponding period of 1946. This is another disease that is being eradicated, commensurate with the elimination of the mosquitoes that transmit it. Meningitis deaths also were on the decline as the year got under way, only ten having been reported, against sixteen during the first quarter of 1946. There was only one polio death reported, and no scarlet fever fatalities. Tuberculosis deaths for the period dropped from 279 to 221, while deaths attributable to heart disease declined from 1,961 to 1,843. Heart ailments continue to constitute the leading cause of death in North Carolina, regardless of the decline just reported. Figures for the subsequent months of 1947 may, and perhaps will, wipe out any early gains that may have been made. Fewer Influenza Deaths The number of influenza deaths was less than half the total for the corresponding period of the previous year, only 96 such deaths having occurred during the first quarter of this year, compared with 201 last year. There was a decrease of 21 in the number of deaths resulting from intracranial vascular lesions — or strokes — while the number of nephritis deaths for the quarter dropped from 860 last year to 666 this year, through March. Pellagra deaths showed a decrease of 4, while pneumonia deaths dropped from 533 to 430. Thus, we have a picture of vital statistics trends in North Carolina during the early months of 1947, but it should be remembered that trends often are upset and that the war against disease and death is a continuing fight, the results of which cannot be measured in terms of a few months, or even a few years. Gains must first be made and then they must be held. The fight against typhoid fever, for example, was an up and down business for many years—in fact, until the people had been educated to the point where they were willing to accept the principles of sanitation and immunization as a permanent policy, so to speak. The same was true in the fight against smallpox. Until vaccination became practically universal, there continued to be periodic outbreaks of this loathsome disease. Now, the adult who has not been immunized against smallpox is a rare exception. When vaccination ,after its discovery in England by Jenner in the last decade of the 1700's, was introduced to the people of the United States, near riots occurred in some communities when attempts were made to induce the people to submit to it. They feared it as they would have feared an invention of the devil. Fear is one of the obstacles that has retarded the march of scientific progress. Ignorance is another. The two, combined, constitute a formidable team—a fertile field for intolerance and superstition. Yet, there have been enough progressives all along to wage a successful battle against these factors, in the long-run, but the fight has been a hard one. Public Less Skeptical Science now has so thoroughly demonstrated its ability to discover and apply immunizing agents that the public has become far less skeptical than it was during the pioneer days. The fight against preventable diseases has been more evolutionary than revolutionary—inch by inch, step by step, the onward march was made, gaining momentum with each passing year. The public now has reached the point where it demands the benefits of scientific discoveries that prevent and cure human ailments, regardless of their cost. The scarcity of penicillin, for ex-
Object Description
Rating | |
Fixed Title * | NCHH-04: The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Document Title | The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Subject Topical | Public health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Subject Topical Other | Public Health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Contributor | North Carolina. State Board of Health. |
Publisher | Raleigh, North Carolina State Board of Health. |
Repository | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Health Sciences Library. |
Host | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Date | 1947 |
Identifier | NCHH-04-062 |
Form General | Periodicals |
Language | English |
Rights | This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. |
Digital Collection | North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection |
Sponsor | The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). |
Volume Number | 62 |
Health Discipline | Public Health |
Digital Format | JPEG 2000 |
Print / Download PDF Version | http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/nchh/nchh-04/nchh-04-062.pdf |
Document Sort | all; group-b; nchh-04 |
Volume Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/identi/searchterm/NCHH-04-062 |
Title Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/documa/searchterm/NCHH-04 |
Catalog Record link | http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb1296443 |
Description
Fixed Title * | Page 4 |
Document Title | The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Subject Topical | Public health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Subject Topical Other | Public Health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Contributor | North Carolina. State Board of Health. |
Publisher | Raleigh, North Carolina State Board of Health. |
Repository | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Health Sciences Library. |
Host | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Date | 1947 |
Identifier | NCHH-04-062-0146 |
Form General | Periodicals |
Page Type | all; article |
Language | English |
Rights | This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. |
Filename | healthbulletinse62nort_0146.jp2 |
Digital Collection | North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection |
Sponsor | The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). |
Volume Number | 62 |
Issue Number | 8 |
Page Number | 4 |
Health Discipline | Public Health |
Full Text | 10 The Health Bulletin September, 1947 1946. This was a tremendous decrease, from a percentage standpoint. Diphtheria is preventable; immunization during the first year of life now is required by law, and when and if there is general observance of this law, diphtheria will be a thing of the past in North Carolina, except in rare instances. There are exception to all human rules, of course. During the period under consideration, there was not a single death from malaria reported anywhere in the State, as compared with 4 during the corresponding period of 1946. This is another disease that is being eradicated, commensurate with the elimination of the mosquitoes that transmit it. Meningitis deaths also were on the decline as the year got under way, only ten having been reported, against sixteen during the first quarter of 1946. There was only one polio death reported, and no scarlet fever fatalities. Tuberculosis deaths for the period dropped from 279 to 221, while deaths attributable to heart disease declined from 1,961 to 1,843. Heart ailments continue to constitute the leading cause of death in North Carolina, regardless of the decline just reported. Figures for the subsequent months of 1947 may, and perhaps will, wipe out any early gains that may have been made. Fewer Influenza Deaths The number of influenza deaths was less than half the total for the corresponding period of the previous year, only 96 such deaths having occurred during the first quarter of this year, compared with 201 last year. There was a decrease of 21 in the number of deaths resulting from intracranial vascular lesions — or strokes — while the number of nephritis deaths for the quarter dropped from 860 last year to 666 this year, through March. Pellagra deaths showed a decrease of 4, while pneumonia deaths dropped from 533 to 430. Thus, we have a picture of vital statistics trends in North Carolina during the early months of 1947, but it should be remembered that trends often are upset and that the war against disease and death is a continuing fight, the results of which cannot be measured in terms of a few months, or even a few years. Gains must first be made and then they must be held. The fight against typhoid fever, for example, was an up and down business for many years—in fact, until the people had been educated to the point where they were willing to accept the principles of sanitation and immunization as a permanent policy, so to speak. The same was true in the fight against smallpox. Until vaccination became practically universal, there continued to be periodic outbreaks of this loathsome disease. Now, the adult who has not been immunized against smallpox is a rare exception. When vaccination ,after its discovery in England by Jenner in the last decade of the 1700's, was introduced to the people of the United States, near riots occurred in some communities when attempts were made to induce the people to submit to it. They feared it as they would have feared an invention of the devil. Fear is one of the obstacles that has retarded the march of scientific progress. Ignorance is another. The two, combined, constitute a formidable team—a fertile field for intolerance and superstition. Yet, there have been enough progressives all along to wage a successful battle against these factors, in the long-run, but the fight has been a hard one. Public Less Skeptical Science now has so thoroughly demonstrated its ability to discover and apply immunizing agents that the public has become far less skeptical than it was during the pioneer days. The fight against preventable diseases has been more evolutionary than revolutionary—inch by inch, step by step, the onward march was made, gaining momentum with each passing year. The public now has reached the point where it demands the benefits of scientific discoveries that prevent and cure human ailments, regardless of their cost. The scarcity of penicillin, for ex- |
Digital Format | JPEG 2000 |
Print / Download PDF Version | http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/nchh/nchh-04/nchh-04-062.pdf |
Document Sort | all; group-b; nchh-04 |
Article Title | Vital Statistics Trends for 1947 |
Article Author | Richardson, William H. |
Volume Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/identi/searchterm/NCHH-04-062 |
Title Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/documa/searchterm/NCHH-04 |
Catalog Record link | http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb1296443 |
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