Maternal
Maternal mortality rate was 0.08 per thousand total birtha in 1979 as compared with 0.06 in 1978. The main causes of maternal mortality were ectopic pregnancy, major puerperal infection and haemorrhages.
General Mortality
The crude death rate was 5.34 per thousand population. Figure 2 shows the age and sex specific death rates in 1979.
Malignant neoplasms, heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases and pneumonia were the four leading causes of death. Common malignancies were cancers of the lung, liver, nasopharynx, stomach and oesophagus.
Viral Hepatitis
A total of 964 cases with 44 deaths were notified. 31.7% of the cases were in the age group 15 24 years and the male to female ratio waa about 2 to 1,
Food Poisoning
A total of 146 outbreaks were reported with 587 persons affected. There were no major outbreaks.
Halaria
III. COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
(Tables 21 25)
The total number of notifications of communicable diseases during 1979 was 12,997. Tuberculosia comprised 60.8% of the total.
The incidence of major infectious diseases in the past 16 years in
shown in Figure 3.
Enteric Fever
The number of casea reported decreased from 369 in 1978 to 357 in 1979. 38% of the cases occurred in young adults aged 15
24 years.
A total of 9 typhoid carriers were detected on investigation.
Bacillary Dysentery
The number of cases increased alightly from 406 in 1978 to 429 in 1979. 26% of the cases occurred in children under five as compared to 34% in 1978. A total of 68 carriers were detected on investigation.
Measles
A total of 1,929 notifications with 32 deaths were reported. Measles was at one time very prevalent among children under five. Since the introduction of anti-measles vaccination in 1967 the incidence has been reduced drastically and the biennial cycle of infection has been broken. The monthly notifications in the past 19 years are shown in Figure 4.
Cholera
Four cases of cholera were detected in the summer of 1979. The causative agent identified was Vibrio Cholerae, biotype I Tor, serotype. Inaba. Prompt action was undertaken to prevent further spread of the disease. There was an outbreak of gastroenteritis among the infante in Tean Yuk Hospital. Escherichia coli serotype 086 was detected in 32 biurrheal cases and also in 56 (29.3%) of 191 contact cased.
Practically all 40 cases were imported.
Influenza and other respiratory viruses
Influenza A/Texas/1/77 (832) and B/Hong Kong/5/72 viruses caused an outbreak concurrently in the period from April to August 1979. The influenza A (9181) virus was not detected.
Adenovirus type 7 was prevalent in August and September causing pneumonia in young children. Mycoplasma pneumoniae vas commonly associated with pneumonia in the first half of the year.
Rubella
Rubella occurred sporadically, but no outbreak was observed. A study of 604 women showed a significant proportion (31%) of them were
IV.
HEALTH SERVICES
(Tables 26 - 40)
Tuberculosis and Chest Service
The tuberculosis death rate slightly rose from 9.1 per 100,000 population in 1978 to 10.7 in 1979. The notification rate alao rose from 143.8 in 1978 to 161.4 per 100,000 population in 1979. Figures 5 and 6 show the mortality and notification rates by age and sex in 1969 and 1979. 2.8% of the cases notified in 1979 vere under the age of 15.
Attendances at government cheat clinica remained at a high level of 1.02 million, though showed a slight decline of 8% comparing with that of 1978.
During the year, 98.32% of the newborns were given BCG. probably the highest coverage rate in the world. introduced in 1952 and infant mortality from tuberculosis consequently declined as shown in Figure 7.
This is
BCG vaccination was
/Social
/Viral