229. Work carried out for Government departments included the assessment of standards in connexion with supply of various commodities and the examination of inflammable and other dangerous good seized by the Department of Fire Services. The number of commercial samples dealt with showed a marked increase and covered a very wide field. including alloys, oils, chemicals, drugs, fire crackers, paints and textiles.
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GOVERNMENT INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY
230. The Government Institute of Pathology, situated in the upper floors of the Sai Ying Pun Polyclinic, undertakes the major part of the clinical pathology and all the public health laboratory work for Govern- ment in the Colony and for some of the grant-aided hospitals. The branch of the Institute in Kowloon Hospital closed in December, 1963, to enable extensive conversions and was transferred temporarily to the laboratories of the Queen Elizabeth Hospitals. Small clinical laboratories are main- tained at the Lai Chi Kok and Castle Peak Hospital. The University Department of Pathology carries out the routine clinical pathology for the Queen Mary Hospital, and a Virus Unit in that Department is staffed from the Institute but operates under the general supervision of the Professor of Pathology. There is a branch laboratory in Caine Lane on Hong Kong Island for the manufacture of vaccine. The work of the Institute during the year is detailed at Appendix 9.
231. A major event during the year was the opening in December of the modern and well-equipped laboratories of the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The number of examinations performed there showed a rapid risc as the wards were opened, and the increase is expected to continue. A Blood Bank with a 24-hour service was also established.
232. Courses of lectures and practical classes for Student Technicians were held throughout the year. Separate courses of lectures were also given to Health Inspectors and Health Visitors.
233. The Vaccine Section of the Institute continued to manufacture standard cholera vaccine of 8,000 million organisms per millilitre, and over 3,000,000 doses of vaccine were used in the course of mass anti- cholera inoculation campaigns held during the year. A reserve of some two million millilitres is always maintained.
234. Systematic examination for K. cholerae in night-soil from collect- ing vehicles was carried out throughout the year and stool specimens from cases of gastroenteritis were investigated routinely for vibrios.
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In addition, the investigation of water from all sources and of other possible vehicles of infection such as fruits, vegetables, fish and shell- fish for cholera organisms was continued throughout the year. On the occurrence of the first clinical case of cholera, a twenty-four hour cholera diagnostic service was established at the Institute in Sai Ying Pun and in the Kowloon Hospital branch of the Institute.
238. During the year 77,085 specimens of faeces, nightsoil, food, water, etc. were examined for P. cholerae, with 1,627 positive results. This extra work necessarily resulted in a reduction of certain other routine services until the cessation of the outbreak at the end of the year.
236. Despite this. there was again an increase in the number of examinations carried out in this Institute during the year, though this was not so marked as previously. The total of 776,793 was 60,398 more than the corresponding figure for 1962. The grand total includes 2,122 examinations carried out in the Virus Unit and 1931 blood groupings performed for personnel of the Auxiliary Medical Services and other bodies.
237. In the tuberculosis section, fluorescent microscopy was in- troduced for direct examination of smears for tubercle bacilli and this has greatly facilitated such work. Numerous sensitivity tests and other investigations were also carried out in connexion with tuberculosis drug trials.
Pirus Laboratory
238. The Virus Laboratory is equipped mainly for diagnostic and survey work in connexion with entero-virus. The Wait carried out a number of faecal and serological surveys for the mass anti-poliomyelitis vaccination campaign. This campaign appeared to be very successful, in that a high conversion rate was obtained and 'wild' poliovirus almost completely disappeared from the community.
239. Four faccal surveys were carried out during the year in the months of April. June. August and December and involved children aged three to twelve months. The first of these surveys was performed approximately six weeks after the second mass feeding of Sabin vaccine, the children sampled being unvaccinated but known to be in reasonably close contact with vaccinated children. From this group, an excretion rate of 43.3 per thousand of vaccine strain poliovirus was found, in- dicating evidence of spread of the vaccine. The excretion rates of "wild"
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