438
The third case was another daughter of Warder GIDLEY, both the children came from Queen's Road East where the disease was then rife. After a long illness she recovered.
The fourth case admitted on 27th April was an Austrian in the employ of a local firm of merchants; he recovered.
On 29th April one of the Sisters from the Italian Convent was admitted; she died on the 2nd May evidently having contracted the disease from a case which occurred in the Convent.
The sixth case was that of an European in the employ of Messrs. LANE, CRAWFORD & Co., after a severe attack he recovered. He probably contracted the disease while superintending the demolition of some structures in which cases of plague had occurred in 1894.
The seventh case, that of a Private in the Rifle Brigade, was admitted on 22nd May; he recovered after a long illness. In all likelihood he contracted it from the Chinese servants, as a case had occurred amongst the native servants at the Barracks.
The next case was that of a Sapper in the Royal Engineers; he was admitted on the 26th May from Wellington Barracks with marked constitutional depression; he died on the 28th May. As there had been a case of plague amongst the Chinese Submarine Engineers on the same block in the floor beneath that in which this Sapper lived, it is probable that he contracted the disease from the Chinamen.
The ninth case, that of Sanitary Inspector MOFFATT, was admitted on the 11th June; he was trans- ferred to Kennedy Town Hospital on the 13th and died from the disease.
The last case was that of one of the European Sisters Miss MCINTOSH; she was on duty at Kennedy Town Hospital when she contracted the disease and was admitted on the 23rd July. After a sharp attack she fortunately recovered and was discharged from the Hospital on the 13th August. Influenza. There were thirteen cases of the ordinary endemic variety usually met with here in the winter months; none proved fatal.
Typhoid.Of the 17 Enteric Fever cases 12 occurred in the Colony, one, had just arrived from Haiphong, one was from Canton and 3 were admitted from ships viz., one from U.S.S. Machias, one from the German gunboat Iltis and one from the S.S. Victoria; there were three fatal cases.
Diphtheria. There was an increase during the year in admissions from this disease, 8 cases, all children of European parents, having been admitted. Of these one proved fatal, in 6 of the cases. either Professor KITASATO's or BEHRING's anti-toxin was a ministered. The copy of a paper on the cases read before the Hongkong and China branch of the British Me lical Association is given in Appendix 4.
Cholera.-On the 1st November the S.S. Cheung Hock Kian with 640 Chinese passengers arrived with thirteen deaths on board.
These bodies were sent to the Tung Wal Hospital and were inspected by myself on my morning visit the following day.
As I could obtain no information from the Tung Wah Hospital Authorities concerning the prob- able cause of death, I reported the fact to the Police Magistrate and obtained an order from him to perforin a post mortem examination.
On the 3rd a living case from the same ship was admitted to the Tung Wah Hospital presenting all the symptoms of cholera; he was transferred to Kennedy Town Hospital
The ship was placed in quarantine on the morning of the 4th instant.
There were three more deaths on the 4th and fifteen presenting symptoms of Cholera were transferred to the Hospital Hulk Hygeia.
Fresh cases kept occurring until the 8th instant.
All suspected cases were transferred twice daily to the Hygeia; 5 deaths occurred on board, these were towed ten miles out to sea, well weighted and dumped overboard.
Bacteriological examination by Dr. WILM and myself at the Laboratory at Kennedy Towu Hospital proved conclusively that the disease was Asiatic Cholera as the "Cholcra-re:!" "reaction was obtained in cultures of the contents of the intestines in peptone water, from living and dead cases, and the presence of "contua-bacilli" in these cultures was proved microscopically.
On the 7th November the whole of the passengers-second class and steerage-were transferred to
eight lighters and anchored in the quarantine ground under guard.
The disinfection and cleansing of the ship was then proceeded with and having been completed on the afternoon of the 9th the passengers were all examined and re-shipped on board by nightfall.
She was released from quarantine on the morning of the 10th and proceeded to Amoy. The ship had left Singapore on the 25th of October.
33 cases in all were admitted to the Hospital Hulk Hygeia and Kennedy Town Hospital; of these 19 proved fatal, a mortality of 57 per cent.
The cause of the outbreak was evidently the water; this was analysed and examined bacteriologi- cally and that in one of the tanks was found to contain "comma-bacilli."
Dysentery.-There were 47 cases with 4 deaths.
Malarial Fever Again I have to report an increase in the number of admissions from this class of disease, the number being 505 as against 368 in the previous year. The months July to November inclusive were those in which the disease was most prevalent.