20
21
I
(0) Enteritis and Diarrhaea.
As
16. There has been a considerable increase in the number of cases recorded in 1948 as compared with 1946 and 1947. in the case of pneumonia, the majority of these deaths occurred in infants. The relatively high figure of 1214 deaths included in Table & under the heading premature births, congenital malformation and disenses of early infancy is due to the high number of deaths recorded in the first of these categories in some of the foundling homes. (See Annexure G).
IV.—HYGIENE & SANITATION.
(a) Organisation.
(1) General Measures.
47. The urban health work is carried out under the following Ordinances :-
1.
Public Health (Sanitation) Ordinance.
2. Public Health (Food) Ordinance.
3. Adulterated Food & Druga Ordinance.
4. Quarantine & Prevention of Disease Ordinance.
5.
6.
Public Health (Animals & Birds) Ordinance. Hawkers Ordinance.
48. To deal with this work Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Kowloon are divided into 5 Health Districts, three in Hong Kong and two in Kowloon, each with a Health Officer and a Senior Health Inspector.
Each district is theu eub-divided into sections under the care of a Health Inspector. There are 43 sections in all-20 in Hong Kong and 18 in Kowloon and New Kowloon.
49. In addition to district duties, other health inspectors are employed on conservancy, refuse collection and disposal, control of hawkers, markets and slaughter houses, meat and food inspection and sampling and cemeteries.
50. Rodent Control is under a specially appointed officer.
(b) Sanitation.
51. The sanitation of the urban area is under the control of the Urban Council with a Chief Health Inspector in charge.
62. There are two systems of night soil removal in opera- tion:-by water carriage sewerage and by bucket conservancy. Bucket conservancy is forced on the Colony by old types of houses, water scarcity and flush restricted areas. 10% of the 155 tons of human waste collected daily were transported to maturing tanks at Castle Peak. Experiments are being carried out to find out how far maturation helps in rendering this material safe for use as a fertiliser.
(c) Housing.
53. The shortage of houses continued with the resulting gross over-crowding. Newcomers of the poorer classes flocking to the Colony have found accommodation in huts and hovels on every available billside and on the remaining sites of bombed and ruined buildings and have even established huge colonies on the roofs of tenement houses in the contre of the city. Surveys of this squatter population show that in June of 1948 the approximate number was 30,000. It is estimated that this number was doubled by the end of the year.
54. These aquatter communities are herded closely together with a complete absence of any form of sanitation or water supply and thus form a continuous threat to public health.
The type
of hut or hovel, generally made of wood with bamboo matting or oiled paper, creates an ever present fire risk and in fact caused five fires during the year which resulted in the destruction of several hundreds of squatters homes and is one case the fire spread to adjacent Jomestic "buildings.
55. In August a committee was formed and special legisla- tion was introduced to deal with this problem, since then progress has been made in effecting a clearance in the central area. (d) Water supply.
56. The main water supply in the urban area is piped and of oxcellent quality. Many wells exist on the mainland and these are a source of anxiety, particularly during periods of epidemic intestinal disease. The supply of potable water was good during the dry season and few restrictions were imposed. During 1949 consumption was 11,098 million gallons, just under 20 gallons per head per day, 2,437 samples from the public supply were examined bacteriologically and 689 chemical (or physical) examinations were
made,
(e) Rural Health.
57. The title refers to Public Health in the New Territories including the remote islands. A Medical Officer of Health is resident there, with G Health Inspectors.
58. New legislation, revising the health rules, is slowly being introduced. The new trafts contain much on subjects not previously dealt with; such as slaughter houses, control of markets and conservancy.
59. A set of rules un Offensive Trades became law in September.
60. The work of the Health Staff has been directed chiefly to improvement of hygiene in licensed premises such as restaurants, eating houses, food preparing establishments and food fartorisa and to the control of markets and hawkers and in schemes for village planning and better housing Marked improvements have taken place in Shek Wu Hui and Shatin. The condition of markets is improving rapidly.