1. INTRODUCTION
THE general health of the population continued to be good. Due to great advances in disease control, the pattern of infectious diseases is changing rapidly. No case of cholera was reported during the year and. apart from one isolated case in 1966, there has been no visitation of this disease for over 44 years. Diphtheria and poliomyelitis are under control and only 15 cases of the latter disease were reported during 1968.
2. As the incidence of other infectious diseases bas declined in recent years, measles has been seen to emerge as a major cause of death in young children, due primarily to complications associated with the disease, and the disease reaching serious epidemic proportions every second winter. An anti-measles vaccination drive was launched in December 1967 and was successful in preventing the measles epidemic which was expected in the winter of 1968-69. The drive was still in progress at the end of the year under review.
3. While tuberculosis remains the major community health problem. the Colony is facing increasing problems due to diseases of later life. Deaths from cancer, diseases of the heart and cerebro-vascular lesions were the leading causes of death followed by pneumonia and tuber- culosis.
4. The Development Programme of the Medical and Health Department has been making steady progress. Altogether, there were 31 projects being planned or built for the improvement and expansion of the health and medical facilities in the urban and rural areas at the end of the year. The fifth of the five phases of the alteration programme of Queen Mary Hospital to provide more acute beds was in progress. Other works in progress were the new Lai Chi Kok Hospital, the Redevelopment of Medical Institutions at Sai Ying Pun, Tang Shiu Kin Hospital at Morrison Hill, Siu Lam Hospital for the Mentally Sub- normal, Tong Fuk Dental Clinic in South Lantau, and a new con- valescent ward block for Kowloon Hospital. Projects completed during the year were the Chai Wan Clinic and Maternity Home and an exten- sion to the Tuberculosis Laboratories at the Medical and Health Department Institute of Pathology, Sai Ying Pun.