8.—31

21

SECTION 7.—GENERAL. During the year the usual routine work of the Department has been carried out in the direction of supervision of water-supplies and of refuse and sewage-disposal schemes, inspection of buildings, abatement of nuisances, &c. Comprehensive sets of regulations have been prepared and issued by the Department dealing with —(1) Drainage and plumbing ; (2) the manufacture and sale of flock ; (3) the cleansing, ventilation, sanitation, and disinfection of theatres, picture-halls, and concertrooms ; (4) the registration, construction, and sanitation of cattle sale-yards ; (5) the importation into New Zealand, of second-hand rugs and clothing, flock, shaving-brushes, wool or hair from certain specified countries in which anthrax is endemic, and any toilet-brushes or toilet articles made from such hair; (6) the treatment and sale of second-hand clothing and bedding ; (7) the registration of eating' houses by local authorities. At the time of writing a very full and complete series of regulations under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act is in the course of preparation. In connection with the operation of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act and the vigilance necessary in carrying out the regulations, I desire to place on record my great appreciation of the work of the Comptroller of Customs and his officers. It is due certainly in no small degree to the watchfulness at ports of entry that much imported foodstuff which offends in some way against the regulations is located, and its distribution throughout the country thereby prevented. The Department is also specially indebted to the Dominion Analyst, in whose laboratory a very large number of samples are dealt with annually. The advice received, by our officers in connection with the framing of regulations is of inestimable value, and with the co-operation of the Dominion Analyst we are able to deal more efficiently and effectively with the various phases of food sophistication that develop from time to time. During the year it was decided to revert once more to the old system whereunder New Zealand was divided into four health districts with headquarters in the four main centres. In this way the available Medical Officers are concentrated where their services are most valuable. Pursuant to this policy the North Auckland Health District was merged'in the Auckland. District as from the beginning of 1924, while the Hawke's Bay and Wanganui-Taranaki Districts have been incorporated in the Wellington Health District as from the Ist April, 1924. The discovery of insulin and the development of laboratory methods as an aid in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes necessitated the Assistant Bacteriologists located at the hospitals in the secondary centres being sent to Dunedin for a short course in blood-chemistry. Thanks are due to the staff of the Otago Medical School, and particularly to Professors Drennan and Hercus, for their ready assistance in undertaking this task at short notice. The course proved an undoubted boon to and was much appreciated by those officers who went to Dunedin. Extracts from the reports of the various Medical Officers of Health which appear in another part of this report show a progressive improvement in the sanitary conditions generally throughout the Dominion, and an. ever-growing appreciation, on the part of local authorities of their responsibilities and duties under the Health Act. In (ionelusion, I desire to put on record my appreciation of the very loyal co-operation afforded me by the Medical Officers of .Health and the staff under their control in what was in. many respects a particularly onerous and trying year. M. H. Watt, Director, Division of Public Hygiene. PART lII.—CHILD WELFARE. SECTION I.—PROGRESS IN INFANT-WELFARE WORK. During the year progress in child welfare throughout New Zealand has been fully maintained. The more our statistics for the last twenty years dealing with the infant from one month to a year or two years, of age are studied and investigated, the more encouraging are the results seen to be. This will be realized by a glance at the following statistical table and approximate comparative graph:— Deaths from Infantile Diarrhoea and Enteritis <>i Children under Two Years of Age : Annual Mortality per 1,000 Births for the last Five Years (1918-22), according to the latest available statistics.

Deaths per 1,000 Births. Remarks. New Zealand .. .. New Zealand (four main cities) Dunedin . . .. .. Australian Commonwealth Now South Wales Sydney Tasmania Hobart Great Britain .. ) C English cities — I ,, ,, , , ,, ., •,, I T fe . , ,,. , ,, >iTor the last three years available < Liverpool (highest) j J Bournemouth (lowest)*J [_ Canada (Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver) 1 f South Africa (White) Netherlands .. .. ■ • Only two to three Switzerland .. .. .. I years' statistics J United States of America —Average of .' available. ] seven cities : Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco J [ 3-5 34 0-8 18 19 22 14 18 15 21 5 24 23 18 14 15 No deaths in last two years. Dunedin is the seat of the longest and most intensive education of mothers in New Zealand. *Lleal residential centre for the south of England. A kind of garden city for the well-to-do. No returns available for U.S.A. as a whole, or for States.