HEALTH SURVEY IN PACIFIC
U.S. ARMED FORCES MEDICAL: JOURNAL
Table 11. Results of survey for syphilis and
gonorrhea, Saipan,* Palau, and Marshall Is-
able 13.
Results of chest x-ray survey for active pulmonary tuberculosis by
age group
lands districts
a
District and island oratoll
Syphilis
Active by x-ray
Gonorrhea
Total numberof cases
6
12
Palau
~-
2
Koror Island
Yap Island
-
1
1
Marshall Islands
6
10
Ailuk Atoll
~
1
Arno Island
Ebon Atoll
Kwajalein Atoll
Majuro Atoli
Namorik Island
i
1
4
-
1
3
4
1
Age group (years)
Under 5
Total
Saipan district
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
241
1.3
68
1.6
Palau district
Number
134
Percent
15
district
Number
Percent
39
0.7
2
.6
2
6
2
5
5
5
3
8
5 to 14
15
3
5
4
8
.4
15 to 24
39
Li
1
2.0
17
11
67
1.2
iv
1.5
43
1.5
7
5
vai
4.4
66
3.5
22
2.0
25 to 44
45 and over
115
3.2
‘Fe. x-rayed were aged and infirm.
0
Marshall Islands
The initial examination consisted
‘eeof a 35-mm photofluorographic roentgenogram that, if the x-ray
*No cases of syphilis or gonorrhea reported for the Saipan district.
3. shadows were suspiciously abnormal, was followed by a 14- by 17‘inch chest roentgenogram. The findings reported in this survey
curred infrequently among both men and women. Several cases of :
‘were
made from the 14- by 17-inch films without further clinical
syphilis and gonorrhea were reported from the Majuro and Kwajalein
>
study.
Atolls. but only an occasional case was reported from any of the other
On the basis of these examinations 4.5 percent of those x-rayed
islands oratolls.
were
found to have chest defects, and 1.3 percent were suspected of
Chest x-ray examinations. Chest roentgenograms were made of
=
having
active pulmonary tuberculosis. The number of chest tumors,
approximately 82 percent of the population of the Saipan, Palau, and
cardiovascular abnormalities, and bone deformities was negligible,
Marshall Islands districts (tables 12 and 13). Many of those not
~ none being over0.3 percentof the total x-rayed.
‘The prevalence rates for active pulmonary tuberculosis increase
Table 12. Results of chest x-ray examinations
with age, showing but little variation by sex. The proportion of
Total
Saipan district
Palau district
Marshall Islands
active-pulmonary-tuberculosis suspects among those x-rayed is greatdistrict
X-ray findings
est for those 45 years of age and over, 3.2 percent as compared with
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
the next highest rate of 1.2 percent for the 25- to 44-year age group.
Only slight differences were noted between rates for both sexes, the
X-ray examinations
18, 094
100. 0
4, 226
100.0
8, 733
100.0
5, 135
100.0
overall rate for females exceeding that for males by 0.1 percent.
All chest defects
817
4.5
230
5.4
388
4.4
199
3.9
Of the three districts Saipan has the highest percentage of chest
Tuberculosis, pulmonary
267
1.4
85
2.0
141
1.6
41
.8
04
147
6
5
8
vl
24
44
17
6
1.0
4
8
St
7
-6
.9
1
7
22
2
3
4
4
Chest tumor
Cardiovascular ab-
al
2
7
2
i7
2
7
1
Bone deformity
48
32
3
W
3
in
1
26
4
439
2.4
124
2.9
217
2.5
98
2.0
Moderately and
far-ad vanced
Other active
Arrested
normality
Other
1212
2
3
1
2
.0
27
4
VOLUME 10, No. 10
defects, with Palau ranking second and the Marshall Islands lowest
of all, 5.4, 4.4, and 3.9 percent, respectively. Of the persons x-rayed
only 0.7 percent in the Marshall Islands, 1.5 percent in Palau, and
1.6 percent in Saipan were recorded as being suspected of having
active pulmonarytuberculosis.
On the basis of the chest roentgenograms performed (table 14), 10
islands had no active pulmonary tuberculosis. On the other islands
the percentage of positive films for the x-rayed population ranged
from Kwajalein’s 0.1 to Faraulep’s 6.8. On six of these islands or
OCTOBER 1959
1213