Ad nds ee : we wet ee we 7 ee aSTades ae ee er ee Se mt me Bn are er ange —s — ee - wee aenee owe fete tte eee ota he eecterate a met . TSB Soe HEALTH SURVEY IN PACIFIC from 6.1 percent for Elato Island to 84.5 percent for the Yap Islands. All of the islands in the Marshall Islands district had less than 40 percent positive reactors. The two lowest percentages in this district were those for Ebon Atoll and Arno Island, 3.2 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. Most consistency was shown in the Saipan district, where the percent positive was 36.4 percent for Tinian Island, 42.1 percent for Rota Island. and 55.4 percent for Saipan Island. The proportion of positive reactors progresses steadily with age (table 18). The only exception is the Saipan district where the peak is reached in the 15-to-24-year age group and a slight decline occurs after the age of H. The percentages for both sexes in each district are very close. Where substantial differences exist the higher percentage is for males. Table 18. Percentage of positive reactions among tuberculin-tested population by age group and sex soe Percent positive Age group (years) . Total AU ages , Saipan district Palsu district Marshal Islands district 46.5 i. 6 60. 19. 2 Male 47.6 H.4 61,2 21 Femsije 43.3 H.8 38.8 16, 2 lL? Under 5 Stol4 a1 a0 16.3 327 H.3 40.5 15 to 24 Sha re 65.4 2.9 25 to 44 60,3 40 a§ 27.7 45 and over 5a. 9 TLL 76,2 27.7 Shin diseases. Skin diseases are prevalent throughoutthe territory. The low standards of hygiene among the islanders and the humid, hoc climate of the area are all conducive to these. conditions. Dermatophytosis is the most comunon skin disease. The prevalence rate for the three districts combined was 293.5 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Saipan district had the highest rate for this disease, 379.9 as compared with 308.7 for the Marshall Islands and 253.7 for Palau. Over one-half the population of Tabal, Aur, Faraulep, Satawal, Rota, Wotje, Lamotrek. and Maloelap had dermatophyrosis. In this class tinea versicolor is in such common occurrence that it 1s ignored by the natives. Tinea crucis and tinea circinata are also prevalent. The prevalence rate for diseases of skin and cellular tissue was 149.2 per 1,000 persons. This group of diseases includes a high proportion of local skin infections. These include ecthyma, which is especially OCTOBER 1959 - _ 1217 eeOTROT i ey oe Ee ane eeETO RO ern me eT seme Tee me . * :