HEALTH
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smears were taken from all children presenting with febrile con- ditions at the Government Clinics in the New Territories and thereafter positive cases are followed up with a view to treatment. It is as yet too early to assess the results of this measure.
Of the parasites identified during the year 95.7% were P. vivax, 3.2% P. falciparum, 0.9% P. malariae and 0.2% mixed infections. Diphtheria. Due to the rapidly increasing number of young children and to the poor response by much of the population to the widespread facilities for immunization, there has been a disturbing rise in the incidence of diphtheria during recent years. The main concentration of the disease is in the densely populated tenement areas of Kowloon and New Kowloon.
In previous years, an intensive immunization campaign was held during the cooler months between September and February. In 1960 and in 1961, however, except for a period of six weeks in 1961 during the cholera outbreak, the campaign was prolonged throughout the year with particular emphasis on inoculation facilities being made available as near as possible to the individual home. House-to-house visits were conducted for the greater part of the year in resettlement, and other crowded, areas, and teams of inoculators visited squatter areas both on hillsides and on rooftops. Continuous use was made of publicity media to stress the dangers of the disease and to inform parents of the facilities available for the protection of their children. This intensive effort met with some success; the infection is now showing a downward trend, but there are still a great many children under ten who have, as yet, no protection against the disease.
The case fatality rate from diphtheria has shown a continuing decline during recent years, being 8.2% during 1961 as compared with 10.5% in 1956.
Enteric Fever. The seasonal rise shown by this disease each year started in May and lasted until October when the infection began to decline. The trend followed the same pattern as in previous years, with most of the cases recorded in the third quarter. There were more cases recorded in 1961 than in 1960, but the case fatality rate, which has shown a progressive fall in recent years, remained low.
Facilities for protective inoculation are available free of charge to any individual or organization wishing to make use of them.