Tuberculoid cases consisted of about 36.4% of the cases. Male case predominated with a sex ratio of 1.4 to 1.
The number of contacts attended to during 1988 was 61 and the two leprosy cases requiring inpatient treatment were admitted into Lai Chi Kok Hospital.
Dermatology-Service
The total number of attendances at the skin clinics in 1988 was 56 998, including 12 680 new cases. The six common skin diseases encountered were eczema, tinea, acne, verruca, psoriasis and neurodermatitis. As in previous years, there was a low incidence of skin
cancer.
Narcoties-and-Drugs -Administration
The department runs a methadone maintenance as well as detoxification scheme for drug abusers. There are at present 25 methadone clinics over Hong Kong operating daily including Sundays and Public Holidays. Since 1980, a central laboratory for urine testing has been providing analytical reports to the methadone clinics. The total number of patients registered with the scheme was 10 100 with the daily attendance of the service ranging from about 6 600 to 8 900 in 1988.
Occupational - Health -Services
The Occupational Health Division, established within the Labour Department, provides an advisory service to the Government and the public on matters concerning the health of workers and the hygiene of workplaces. It also serves a supervisory function in the observance of occupational health standards and practices. The objectives of the division are to maintain and improve the physical and mental well-being of workers, protect them against any health hazard arising from employment and help them in adjusting to their tasks. The essence of the service is disease prevention and health promotion.
A prime responsibility of the division is the investigation of notified occupational diseases and potential occupational health hazards reported by the factory inspectorate, other Government Departments and the public. Surveys are conducted by health officers, health nurses and hygienists in teams for the monitoring of possible physical, chemical and biological hazards in the work environment. The medical examination of Government divers, compressed air workers, pest control workers and personnel exposed to ionizing radiation is another activity aimed at ensuring that workers are physically fit for their tasks and that the work does not adversely affect their health. The laboratory of the Occupational Health Division carries out analytical tests on biological samples from workers' urine and blood as well as other miscellaneous samples from the working environment. A total of 1 603 field surveys and 1 137 laboratory analyses were conducted in 1988.
The division is also involved in the medical assessment of injured employees in Employees' Compensation cases and also deals with cases of silicosis under the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance.
In 1988, 390 cases of occupational diseases were confirmed, including 167 cases of silicosis, 27 cases of inflammation of skin, 108 cases of compressed air illness and 18 episodes of gas poisoning affecting a total of 76 workers.
There were 110 827 occupational injuries reported in 1988 and of these, 102 950 non-fatal and 216 fatal cases were processed under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance.
Since 1988, Nursing Officers II of the division, apart from performing duties related to medical assessment boards, started to conduct visits to factories and industrial undertakings for occupational health promotion and education. During these visits discussions were made with employers and employees on the common occupational diseases and their preventive measures,
Health-Education
The Central Health Education Unit is responsible for organising, co-ordinating and promoting health education activities. On the level of direct service, the unit organises campaigns, projects and various day-to-day activities like the 24-hour telephone information service.
On the promotion and supportive level, health education materials like leaflets, posters, slides and videos are continually produced for distribution, showing as well as loan-out to voluntary agencies.
On the co-ordination and liaison level, the unit is represented in many inter-departmental committees and working groups for the implementation of various health education programmes.
During the year, the unit was actively involved in a number of campaigns, including the AIDS education and publicity campaign, the 'Health for All, All for Health' campaign, food hygiene and anti-malaria campaign.
Due to the outbreak of hepatitis A and measles in the early part of the year, the unit was enlisted to provide health education support to the control of the two diseases. This included media interviews, the production and distribution of pamphlets, posters, and videos, and the setting up of the 24-hour telephone information service.
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