FIGURE & SYPHILIS 1958 – 1967
And
1558
1
YEAR
FIGURE 9
attention is being paid to the public health aspects of tuberculosis, 70 Health Auxiliaries whose main duties consist of contact tracing and bome visiting are attached to the Chest Service; these Health Auxiliaries are supervised by one Health Sister and six Health Visitors. Newly diagnosed cases of tuberculosis have all aspects of the disease thoroughly explained to them by Health Visitors and receive explanatory leaflets. Regular attendance for out-patient chemotherapy is regarded as being of paramount importance and considerable emphasis is placed on follow up of defaulters and on ensuring that contacts are examined.
40. The clinics also provide medical social work, contact tracing and supervisory services, and undertake surveys of selected groups, such as Government employees and prisoners, in co-operation with the Radio- logical Service. In other cases a regular financial grant can be made where the family depend on the patient's earnings and no other way can be found to maintain the dependants during his hospitalization.
41. The high incidence of primary and secondary drug resistance in Hong Kong has been demonstrated by research undertaken in conjunc- tion with the Medical Research Council in Britain. Results of these investigations indicated that the level of drug resistance in Hong Kong was probably the highest in the world, 40% of the organisms investi- gated showing resistance to one or more of the first-line drugs comunenly used in ambulatory chemotherapy. A register of resistant cases is kept at the main clinics. During the year a total of 809 cases were registered, of which 391 were bacteriologically resistant to one drug. 220 were resistant to 2 drugs and 192 resistant to the three primary drugs; these patients were entered on the waiting list for admission to hospital for treatment with 'second-line' drugs.
42. The work of hospitals dealing with tuberculosis cases is reviewed elsewhere in this report.
SOCIAL HYGIENE SERVICE
(5cc tables 25-29)
43. The incidence of early infectious syphilis showed a further reduction in 1967, marking the fourth consecutive year of reduction. The number of latent syphilitic cases was about the same as in the previous year while the incidence of gonorrhoea showed a slight increase. It is encouraging to note that the incidence of syphilis in the teenage group of the population has not risen in the manner experienced in many other parts of the world. The trends over the past ten years are illustrated in Figures 8 to 10.
10 1
TOTAL CATES
$35YD
TOTAL
4204
3000-
1:200
250-
FORE
100
50
14
100
INCIDENCE RATE
CASE*
*140
ES
INFECTIOUS SYPHILIS 1958 - 1967
NCIDENCE RATE
CASES
1990
60
12
T
YEAR
13
R
INCIDENCE HATE PER 100,000 POPULLATEN AGE33 15 & OVER
20
100
44
#
12
INCIDENCE RATE PER 100,000 POPULATION AGED 15 L OVER